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01/31/06
Newly
acquired papers show AP was born two years earlier than previously
thought
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press came
into existence in 1846, two years earlier than previously
thought, according to a newly acquired collection of 19th
century documents.
The year 1848 had been generally accepted by journalism historians
-- and the AP itself -- as the birth date of history's first
major wire service. The not-for-profit news cooperative even
celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 1998. But papers recently
provided to AP's corporate archives by the descendant of a
founder show the world's oldest and largest newsgathering
organization was born in New York during the U.S. war with
Mexico, in 1846.
"These documents are a significant discovery not only
for the historical record of the Associated Press,”
says AP President Tom Curley, “but because they also
reaffirm the AP's fundamental role, covering the news in war
and peace, as envisioned by the member newspapers that created
it."
The papers were provided to AP on Nov. 8, 2005 by Brewster
Yale Beach. He is a great-great-grandson of Moses Yale Beach,
the second owner of the original New York Sun. Moses Yale
Beach was a driving force in creating the 19th-century alliance
of newspapers receiving dispatches jointly that would become
known as The Associated Press. A June 1872 memorandum by his
son, Moses Sperry Beach, is key to the new historical findings
and the reason the papers are officially designated as "The
Moses Sperry Beach Collection."
The date change comes as AP continues organizing its historical
corporate records, under the supervision of Director of The
AP Corporate Archives Valerie Komor, following its 2004 move
in New York from Rockefeller Plaza, home for 67 years, to
a new world headquarters on Manhattan's west side. Also under
way is a project involving nearly 20 writers, editors and
researchers working on a new history of the AP, updating Oliver
S. Gramling's "AP: The Story of News," the 1940
book that has served as a definitive history of AP's first
century.
To see details about the historical discovery, read Richard
Pyle's AP news story in the "What's New" section
on the corporate Internet site at http://www.ap.org/pages/about/whatsnew/whatsnew.html
To request an interview with AP archivist Komor, contact Jack
Stokes by e-mail at jstokes@ap.org Visuals can be provided,
upon request.
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
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