Historical Background and Operating Logistics of the Associated Press - Research Paper Example

?How the Associated Press News influences US and how they are playing a role in the Globalized World Introduction Over the years, there has been an increase in the unification of the economic order of the world characterized by the reduction of import quotas, international trade tariffs and export charges in a process commonly referred to as globalization (Croucher, 2004). Not only has globalization seen economies achieve greater cooperation with other economies, various cultures and societies have also enjoyed integration through trade, transportation and communication according to Jagdish (2004). Essentially, globalization has seen regional, territorial and geographical borders almost become irrelevant in numerous respects (Croucher, 2004). Various organizations participate and have actually influenced how globalization impacts various parties. The media as an industry has been a key player in the transfer of information from one part of the world to another or the rest of the world. The Associated Press is one organization that enjoys international presence with a remarkable resource and customer base to its advantage in fulfilling its mission. This paper will focus on analyzing how the Associated Press News influences the United States of America and how the organization impacts the globalized world. Historical Background and Operating Logistics of the Associated Press The Associated Press (AP), formally New York Associated Press (NYAP), is a news agency that is owned and mainly operated by Americans, established in 1846. The organization was formed by five individual dailies based in New York with an aim of sharing the costs associated with transmitting news. The five daily newspapers that founded AP include New York Sun (the actual originator of the idea), the Express, the Herald, Journal of Commerce, and Courier and Enquirer. Other dailies that joined the five with time included the Tribune (1849) and The New York Times (1851). At the time of its establishment, AP needed to transmit news of the Mexican War, and this was supposed to be accomplished by the use of telegraph, boat and horse express services. In a Supreme Court case, in 1900, involving the Associated Press and Inter Ocean Publishing Company, it was ruled that the former was a public utility that was operating in trade restraint, a factor that led the organization to shift its base to New York from Chicago. This reason for the shift was because corporation laws in New York better favored cooperative organizations. Under the leadership of Melville Stone, the organization’s standards included impartiality, integrity and accuracy. Later, Kent Cooper came to establish news bureaus in the Middle East, South America and Europe. Stone oversaw the introduction of the telegraph typewriter in newsrooms. The organization later started using the Wirephoto network that made it possible to transmit photographs within 24 hours from the time they were taken via telephone lines. In 1945, AP began broadcasting its news by distributing them to established radio stations. In 1974, the organization established a radio network for itself. Later in 1994, the organization started using APTV, an agency that worked at gathering global news on video. The organization saw the formation of APTN whose aim was to provide video to websites and international broadcasters. AP has managed to diversify its capabilities to an extent that in 2007 alone, its revenues from US newspapers only accounted for about 30% of its total earnings. In the same year, 18% of the organizations revenues were derived from photography and international newspapers, 15% from internet related ventures and 37% from global broadcast activities. According to the news agency, AP is a non-profit organization that is owned by 1500 United States daily newspaper members (Associated Press, 2011). The Associated Press has an admirable resource base, mainly in the form of news articles and features. No wonder its news has previously been published or republished by over 5000 radio and TV broadcasters and over 1700 newspapers (Associated Press, 2011). Its photograph library alone held more than 10 million photographs as of 2005. So far, the organization operates in at least 120 nations, although it has international workers spread across the world. Currently, AP has about 243 news bureaus around the globe. In line with their cooperate pact with AP, member organizations give the organization express rights to publish and distribute their local news findings. Its news outlets on the other hand enjoy the permission to edit the stories they receive from AP without losing the essence of the information or news depending on the publication areas available to them. Today, the Associated Press publishes articles and features that are contributed by various media stations as well as its own staff (Associated Press, 2011). As such AP is a cooperative that enjoys the contribution of various individuals and organizations to see its continued existence and success. Outside of the United States of America, various news agencies and broadcasters commonly subscribe to AP services having no obligation to contribute news but only paying for their use of the organization’s resources. The Associated Press’ Audience Base As from 1993 to date, the Associated Press has been enjoying a significant audience in the US especially given that its core rival the United Press International has been facing challenges ever since. Although there are competitors to the news agency including Agence France-Presse, Reuters, United Press International and All Headline News (AHN), the organization has stood the test of time in service delivery and therefore enjoys a better reputation. Furthermore, the news agency has a variety of products on ensuring that its target market is as broad as possible. Among the products that the organization offers include entertainment, sports, technology, world, business, health, science, political, weather and business news. Indeed according to the organization, almost half the world views news from Associated Press depending on whether it was run in the state, nationally or beyond the national borders (Associated Press, 2011). When a news story is run goes international, it also gets to be viewed by close to 1700 US newspaper members. The Global Imagination of the Associated Press The Associated Press has as its core principles of operations integrity, accuracy and non-bias. However, many wonder to what extent these principles are actually applied by the organization going by its stances relating to certain personalities, parties, territories, regions and countries. AP has commonly presented the Middle East as a haven of terrorists not considering that there are countries in the Middle East that actually support the US in its war against international terrorism. It has also often presented some countries in good light given that they are close allies to the US. One such country is Israel as seen it war with Palestine. Yet again, the press has presented Africa as a continent that grapples with strange maladies, abject poverty and extreme corruption. One would easily imagine that almost no corruption, disease and poverty exist in the United States and those European countries that are close allies to the USA like the UK. It is not once that the Associated Press has been accused of bias in its publication. Phillips, Randle, Fuch, Huffman and Romero (2010) in their investigative article states that AP has been involved with bias a number of times. Some of the cases cited by Philips et al (2010) include the brutality of US military forces against prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, the deaths of a 27 year old Iraqi and Iraqi detainee under interrogation by the US Navy Seals. In the above cases, the US forces reported obviously false information related to the deaths of their victims. While AP and its associated media houses received the information relating to these deaths, the stories were barely reported and received far less attention and coverage than would normally be desired. Philip (2006) also presents a story that relates to Aristide’s, (former Haitian President) plight under the US forces. While Aristide claims that mistreatment and kidnap by his supposed protectors - the US forces, AP presented a false story relating to the said events and kept the world in the dark cleverly avoiding to air out Aristides’ claims. Yet another claim against AP that relates to biasness relates to the Israel – Palestine conflict. It is claimed that AP presented inaccurate figures relating to the fatalities that occurred in both countries as a result of the ensuing conflict (Philip, 2006). AP as a news agency has been accused of bias and misinformation with regard to its presentation of US political news. Whenever, a Democrat a leftist is mentioned in bad light, the organization tends to avoid presenting the news and keeps Americans and by extension, the world in darkness. However, whenever a Republican is in a situation more or less similar to that afore mentioned, AP concentrates on party affiliation (Huston 2010). The presentation of AP as a bias organization by certain quarters is so pronounced that it is beyond trashing by reasonable elements of the society. In fact, the press practically controls what Americans and half the world views and considers as the truth owing to its massive presence and control of what other media houses feature in their reports. In respect of this situation, it may be stated that the Associated Press indirectly prevents Americans from receiving all the sides of the coin on the news that it presents. Some quarters believe that the ownership of AP is a major factor in its bias in the presentation of news and favors countries that it considers powerful. How Associated Press influences the US and the Globalised World Associated Press enjoys a global presence and has its news seen by close to 50% of the world every single day. The cooperative through its media activities has a major influence on globalization especially in its presentation of various news items modeled after the American culture or belief. The organization’s use of technological tools such as satellite TV and the internet has made the global audience get connected and therefore share transnational images. Based on the activities of AP and its associates, individuals living in a remote part of the US can get to know what is happening in a different part of the world separated by thousands of miles in distance (Mirza, 2009). This has particularly been made possible by the use of cable TV, radio broadcasting and the Internet all of which are powerful technological tools. The organization has also played a role in the appreciation of brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola and MacDonalds beyond national borders. Better stated, to a great extent therefore, the agency has also played a role in the creation of international markets for certain products (Mirza, 2009). What this means is that through the organization’s activities, the world has continued to witness cultural and geographical proximity (Mirza, 2009). Conclusion By virtue of its status as a cooperative, Associated Press enjoys global presence and has contributed massively to globalization through its media activities. One criticism that has been leveled against AP is its tendency to monopolize the US market, causing US citizens to rely a lot in what it (AP) presents. The organization is also seen to have a bias toward or against certain parties bringing to question its ownership and intentions. In spite of the bias that is associated with AP, the organization has also positively impacted the world in that it has brought far away regions closer to one virtually. The organization is widely viewed positively across the world in spite of its criticisms. References Associated Press (2011) Associated Press: FAQ. Retrieved 10 July, 2011. http://www.ap.org/pages/about/faq.html Croucher L. (2004). Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield. Huston W. (2010) AP Bias: ‘Name That Party’ Blasts Repubs, Leaves Dems Unnamed in Stories. Retrieved 10 July, 2011. http://bigjournalism.com/wthuston/2010/06/17/ap-bias-name-that-party-blasts-repubs-leaves-dems-unnamed-in-stories/ Jagdish B. (2004). In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.  Mirza J. (2009). “Globalization of Media: Key Issues and Dimensions”. European Journal of Scientific Research Vol.29 No.1 (2009), pp.66-75 Retrieved 10 July, 2011. http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr_29_1_08.pdf Phillips P. (2006).News Bias in the Associated Press. CommonDreams.org. Retrieved 10 July, 2011. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0722-21.htm Phillips P., Randle S., Fuch B., Huffman Z. and Romero F. (2010). A Study of Bias in the Associated Press. Retrieved 10 July, 2011. http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/19015-study-bias-associated-press.html Read More