The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally. It was founded in 1868 by a consortium of provincial newspaper proprietors as a co-operative in order to supply news items from across the country to its members. It has offices around the UK and Ireland including London, Nottingham (photographic department) and Howden and has over 200 correspondents throughout Britain.
It is part of the PA Group which includes subsidiaries that specialise in coverage and data of sport, entertainment and business. In turn the Press Association has two subsidiaries, the Scottish Press Association and the Press Association of Ireland (covering Northern and the Republic of Ireland).
The Press Association produces over 100 stories on weekdays.[1] The choice of stories by the Press Association has a large impact on coverage in UK media. A study to quantify this found that 70% of UK news articles in the five most notable quality London based newspapers were largely influenced by the Press Association's copy (or the few other much smaller agencies in the UK). 30% of stories were simple copies.[2] Guardian journalist Nick Davies' study of what he pejoratively termed churnalism found that a high proportion of stories in UK media, including some distributed by the Press Association, amounted to little more than uncritical reproduction of press releases and spin from government bodies and corporate organisations.[3][4]
It was considered a trusted source by the BBC, which in 2004 stated it was "a confirmed, single source".[5] However, since that time the BBC has adopted a policy of attributing some breaking news stories to agencies until confirmed by at least one other source.
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The Press Association was started in 1868 by a group of regional newspaper owners to provide a London-based service of news-collecting and reporting from around the British Isles. The story goes, they came up with idea in the back of a Hansom Cab during a traffic jam as a result of London smog. The news agency’s founders wanted more accurate and reliable news, delivered quicker than the telegraph companies. When it was set up the committee who organised it said “The Press Association is formed on the principle of co-operation and can never be worked for individual profit, or become exclusive in its character”.
Today, the Press Association says its mantra is fast, fair and accurate. The company has gone from a news and sport supplier to traditional media, to a digital organisation that supplies news, sport, images, weather and many other services to numbers of different customers.
A full history of the Press Association was written by Chris Moncrieff, CBE, the former Political Editor of the Press Association in 2001 called "Living on a Deadline."