Editing Australian Associated Press (section)

==History==
[[File:KeithMurdoch.jpg|thumb|263x263px|[[Keith Murdoch]], who led the merger to form the AAP]]
Australia was first linked to international telegraph services by a submarine cable that linked [[Java]] to [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], which was laid by the British-Australian Telegraph Company, and completed on 18 November 1871.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stephen|first=Thompson|date=January 2012|title=1871 The Overland Telegraph Line: Telegraph Collection|url=http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/1871-the-overland-telegraph-line-telegraph-collection/index.html|access-date=2020-11-19|website=NSW Migration Heritage Centre|language=en-US|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417133306/http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/1871-the-overland-telegraph-line-telegraph-collection/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Eastern states were connected through [[Adelaide]] on the completion of the [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line]] in 1872.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=15 April 2020|title=Overland telegraph|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[National Museum of Australia]]|language=en|archive-date=30 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330000552/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> As a result, the time it took to transmit news from Europe to Australia was dramatically reduced, having previously taken weeks or months to arrive via post on ships, news could now be transmitted in just hours by telegraph.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=David|date=2008|title=Australia and the global telegraph network 1854–1902|url=https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/2619|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Museums Victoria Collections|archive-date=23 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023103440/https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/2619|url-status=live}}</ref> Anticipating that the cost of sending messages would be high, the [[Melbourne]] newspaper ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]'' formed an association with ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', creating an agreement with the [[Reuters]] news agency for the transmission of news to Australia.<ref name=":6" /> This group successfully lobbied the [[Government of Victoria]] to pass the first copyright legislation of its kind in the world in 1871, protecting news material transmitted electronically for 24 hours from its first publication.<ref name=":6" />

For a decade prior to 1895, three organisations supplied overseas news to Australia, The Argus group, [[The Age]] group, and the Reuters telegraph agency.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Putnis|first=Peter|date=1999|title=The Press Cable Monopoly 1895— 1909: A Case Study of Australian Media Policy Development|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1329878x9909000114|journal=Media International Australia|volume=90|issue=1|pages=139–155|doi=10.1177/1329878x9909000114|s2cid=147477119|issn=1329-878X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1895, these services merged into the Australian Press Association, which had an exclusive contract with Reuters for its foreign newswire service.<ref name=":0" /> A 1909 Senate inquiry found that the association was a monopolistic cartel, and financed a short-lived alternative service.<ref name=":0" /> A competitor was established in 1911, called the United Cable Service, which competed for exclusive access to Reuters' foreign newswire service.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Ellis|first=Gavin|title=News agencies in the turbulent era of the internet|publisher=Generalitat de Catalunya: Col-leccio Lexikon|year=2010|editor-last=Boyd-Barrett|editor-first=Oliver Joseph|location=Barcelona|pages=72–82}}</ref> Initially serving ''[[The Sun (Sydney)|The Sun]]'' and ''[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]]'', the service drew on the [[London]] newspaper ''[[The Times]]'', and would be headed by [[Keith Murdoch]] from 1915 to 1921.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Young|first=Sally Ann|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1077789499|title=Paper emperors : the rise of Australia's newspaper empires|publisher=NewSouth Publishing|year=2019|isbn=978-1-74223-498-4|location=Sydney|pages=248–266|oclc=1077789499}}</ref> The Australian Press Association and the United Cable Service agreed on an arrangement for shared access in 1926.<ref name=":1" /> In the early 1930s they set up an 'omnibus' service, dividing routine work like court cases and ship movements.<ref name=":7" /> When several of the newspapers who were part of the Australian Press Association folded, the two services began discussions on merging.<ref name=":7" /> In 1935, Murdoch brokered a merger between the two competitors to cut down costs, which established the Australian Associated Press as a not-for-profit cooperative with 14 newspaper shareholders.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking news in Australia since 1935 |url=http://aap.com.au/About?l=eighty-years |website=Australian Associated Press |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918011045/http://aap.com.au/About?l=eighty-years |archive-date=2015-09-18 |access-date=2015-10-15}}</ref> The AAP had an initial staff of 12, with London and [[New York City|New York]] bureaus.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wake|first=Alexandra|date=3 March 2020|title=The closure of AAP is yet another blow to public interest journalism in Australia|url=http://theconversation.com/the-closure-of-aap-is-yet-another-blow-to-public-interest-journalism-in-australia-132856|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|language=en|archive-date=14 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214084450/https://theconversation.com/the-closure-of-aap-is-yet-another-blow-to-public-interest-journalism-in-australia-132856|url-status=live}}</ref> Murdoch became the AAP's first chairman, and would serve until 1940.<ref name=":7" /> Its charter laid out that the service was to provide:<blockquote>"the most accurate and most searching information of all the world’s activities and thought without any tendency toward or opportunity for the exercise of political partisanship or bias".<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|last=Forde|first=Susan|date=2020-03-05|title=Off the wire|url=https://insidestory.org.au/off-the-wire/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Inside Story|language=en}}</ref></blockquote>Initially, the AAP only functioned to provide overseas news to the Australian media, as major newspapers at the time had long-standing groups for local news syndication.<ref name=":1" /> In 1947, the agency became a shareholder in the Reuters telegraph agency, providing the AAP with windfall profits as well as representation on the Reuters board. In addition to its initial bureaux in London and New York, in the 1950s the AAP partnered with the Reuters telegraph agency to post AAP-Reuters correspondents in Asia.<ref name=":1" /> In the 1970s, the AAP began to offer federal parliamentary reporting from Canberra as well as court, sports, racing and stock market reporting. By 1972 the AAP had correspondents in [[Beijing]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Port Moresby]], Saigon (today [[Ho Chi Minh City]]), [[Singapore]], [[Suva]] and [[Wellington]], as well as all Australian states and territories.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Coomber|first=John|date=2020-03-06|title='Our nation will be poorer for it': Former editor mourns AAP's demise|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/our-nation-will-be-poorer-for-it-former-editor-mourns-aap-s-demise-20200307-p547se.html|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=5 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505111925/https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/our-nation-will-be-poorer-for-it-former-editor-mourns-aap-s-demise-20200307-p547se.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At this time the AAP experienced a large growth in its newsroom, from 40 journalists in 1970 to 120 in 1980, and as a result of the AAP's high-pressured environment there was also a high turnover of around 1000 journalists in that period.<ref name=":7" />

The AAP launched a full domestic news service in 1980.<ref name=":1" /> It was also in the 1980s that the AAP switched from its not-for-profit model to become a commercial service.<ref name=":7" /> An attempt to take over the AAP by [[News Corp Australia|News Corp]], now led by Keith Murdoch's son [[Rupert Murdoch]], by buying half of the shares of the then other largest shareholder [[Fairfax Media|Fairfax]] in 1988 was not allowed to proceed by the [[Trade Practices Commission]].<ref name=":1" /> After 60 years of continuous reporting in the country, the AAP shut its bureau in Papua New Guinea in 2014, AAP's departure from the country was criticised by academics and members of the local media for diminishing the quality and quantity of news about Papua New Guinea which made it to Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Momoisea|first=Leilani|date=2014-12-05|title=Critics says reporting of PNG issues going downhill|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/20160011/critics-says-reporting-of-png-issues-going-downhill|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[Radio New Zealand]]|language=en-nz|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224203508/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/20160011/critics-says-reporting-of-png-issues-going-downhill|url-status=live}}</ref> The AAP also closed down its Jakarta office in September 2017 after 35 years, opting to operate its Asia desk from Australia by using international newswires and freelance journalists.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watkins|first=Emily|date=2017-09-04|title=AAP to close Jakarta bureau after 35 years|url=https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/09/04/aap-to-close-jakarta-bureau/|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[Crikey]]|language=en-AU}}</ref> In June 2018, the AAP cut its editorial team by 25 staff, around 10% of its then around 220 person editorial personnel.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duke|first=Jennifer|date=2018-06-05|title=AAP to cut up to 25 staff due to disrupted environment|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-to-cut-up-to-25-staff-due-to-disrupted-environment-20180605-p4zjlj.html|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=21 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121124240/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-to-cut-up-to-25-staff-due-to-disrupted-environment-20180605-p4zjlj.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After posting a $10.45 million loss in 2018, it achieved a $929,000 profit in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duke|first=Jennifer|date=2019-12-17|title=AAP back in black after multimillion-dollar restructure|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-back-in-black-after-multimillion-dollar-restructure-20191217-p53kp9.html|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== New Zealand Newswire ===
After the closure of the AAP's New Zealand counterpart the [[New Zealand Press Association]] on 31 August 2011, the AAP launched a '''New Zealand Newswire''' (NZN) division on 5 September 2011 with offices in [[Auckland]], [[Wellington]] and [[Christchurch]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stone|first=Andrew|date=2011-08-30|title=Farewell NZPA, hello three new services|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/farewell-nzpa-hello-three-new-services/55GKH4KOF2DNYZ722F5HD2MFBI/|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[New Zealand Herald]]|language=en-NZ|archive-date=4 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104235706/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/farewell-nzpa-hello-three-new-services/55GKH4KOF2DNYZ722F5HD2MFBI/|url-status=live}}</ref> NZN employed 14 journalists split across Auckland and Wellington. NZN closed its digital news video team in September 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-02-14|title=New Zealand Newswire to close|work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/101446105/new-zealand-newswire-to-close|url-status=live|access-date=2019-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202160858/https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/101446105/new-zealand-newswire-to-close|archive-date=2020-02-02}}</ref> The AAP shut down its NZ Newswire division on 27 April 2018, and it was the final independent news agency in New Zealand to shut down, with the AAP retaining two full-time journalists in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Peacock|first=Colin|date=2018-02-14|title=NZ's news coverage shrinks as agency shuts down|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018632101/nz-s-news-coverage-shrinks-as-agency-shuts-down|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[Radio New Zealand]]|language=en-nz|archive-date=1 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201015112/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018632101/nz-s-news-coverage-shrinks-as-agency-shuts-down|url-status=live}}</ref>

===AAP 2.0===
On 20 March 2020, it was announced that AAP's shareholders had decided to break up and shut down the newswire, saying that the service had become unsustainable in competition with free online content.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marks|first=Russell|date=2020-09-09|title=Rupture: How Google and Facebook created the opportunity for NewsCorp's latest coup attempt|url=https://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/russell-marks/2020/09/2020/1599616410/rupture|website=The Monthly|access-date=4 November 2020|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204083319/https://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/russell-marks/2020/09/2020/1599616410/rupture|url-status=live}}</ref> However, at the last-minute before the service was set to close in June, AAP was bought by a consortium of [[Impact investing|impact investors]] and philanthropists led by Peter Tonagh, a former chief of News Corp and [[Foxtel]].<ref name="Meade">{{Cite web|last=Meade|first=Amanda|date=2020-03-03|title=AAP to close after wire service tells staff it is no longer viable|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/03/aap-to-close-after-wire-service-tells-staff-it-is-no-longer-viable|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> The group said they were motivated by a desire to support media diversity, and included Nick Harrington, the notable philanthropist John McKinnon,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=McGuirk|first=Rod|date=2020-06-30|title=Australian national news agency sold in binding agreement|url=https://apnews.com/article/b2de757d826191e4903f5bed3743c10e|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[Associated Press]]|archive-date=28 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328133649/https://apnews.com/article/b2de757d826191e4903f5bed3743c10e|url-status=live}}</ref> Fred Woollard the managing director of Samuel Terry Asset Management, and Kylie Charlton the managing director of Australian Impact Investments.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Samios|first=Zoe|date=2020-06-05|title=AAP edges closer to rescue deal with Tonagh-led group but jobs still on the line|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-edges-closer-to-rescue-deal-with-tonagh-led-consortium-20200605-p54zyp.html|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=5 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905103918/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-edges-closer-to-rescue-deal-with-tonagh-led-consortium-20200605-p54zyp.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The group was made up of 35 investors from five states.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|date=2020-07-05|title=How Ancient Rome inspired a newswire's escape from death|url=https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/how-ancient-rome-inspired-a-newswire-s-escape-from-death-20200702-p558bi|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Australian Financial Review|language=en|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116132855/https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/how-ancient-rome-inspired-a-newswire-s-escape-from-death-20200702-p558bi|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that the sale was made for the price of $1.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Samios|first=Zoe|date=2020-06-14|title=Australian Associated Press to be sold for $1|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/australian-associated-press-to-be-sold-for-1-20200614-p552db.html|access-date=2020-11-04|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030194111/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/australian-associated-press-to-be-sold-for-1-20200614-p552db.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the year prior to its sale and restructure, the AAP reported a loss of $10 million, $5.4 million of that being from the newswire service.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Samios|first=Zoe|date=2020-11-01|title=AAP newswire lost $10 million before rescue deal|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-newswire-lost-10-million-before-rescue-deal-20201030-p56a42.html|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110204348/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-newswire-lost-10-million-before-rescue-deal-20201030-p56a42.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The service was relaunched as a not-for-profit on 1 August 2020, under the same name, but has been referred to as 'AAP 2.0' when making the distinction from the previous organisation.<ref name=":13"/> The newswire was bought by Acta Diurna AAP Limited, a legal entity founded by Harrington and McKinnon, the name referring to the public daily records of ancient Rome.<ref name=":8" /> It was later renamed Australian Associated Press Limited.<ref>[https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/faces/landing/panelSearch.jspx?searchType=OrgAndBusNm&searchText=641582121 Australian Associated Press Limited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902204844/https://connectonline.asic.gov.au/RegistrySearch/faces/landing/panelSearch.jspx?searchType=OrgAndBusNm&searchText=641582121 |date=2 September 2024 }} [[Australian Securities & Investments Commission]]</ref> The AAP's editor Andrew Drummond remained in the role, Emma Cowdroy was appointed CEO after having previously acted the AAP's senior legal counsel,<ref name=":2" /> making her the only woman at the head of a news agency internationally.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Silvester|first=Benjamin|date=14 November 2020|title=From the brink of collapse, AAP fights for its life and media diversity|url=https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/from-the-brink-of-collapse-aap-fights-for-its-life-and-media-diversity|access-date=2020-11-19|website=The Citizen|language=en-au|archive-date=13 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113212733/https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/from-the-brink-of-collapse-aap-fights-for-its-life-and-media-diversity|url-status=live}}</ref> Jonty Low was appointed to chair of the AAP board, becoming the first woman to hold the role, as well as the first board chair without a media background.<ref name="Drummond">{{Cite web|last=Drummond|first=Andrew|date=2020-08-07|title=New chair sets AAP board on fresh course|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6868878/new-chair-sets-aap-board-on-fresh-course/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[Canberra Times]]|language=en-AU|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127113330/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6868878/new-chair-sets-aap-board-on-fresh-course/|url-status=live}}</ref> Peter Tonagh became a member of the AAP's board.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mason|first=Max|date=2020-08-03|title=The News Corp survivor who helped save AAP|url=https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/how-media-s-quiet-achiever-helped-save-aap-20200708-p55a2h|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[Australian Financial Review]]|language=en|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030172037/https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/how-media-s-quiet-achiever-helped-save-aap-20200708-p55a2h|url-status=live}}</ref> Nick Harrington joined AAP's executive team as head of strategy and development,<ref name=":8" /> a position he resigned from on 21 September 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Samios|first=Zoe|date=2020-09-27|title=AAP 2.0 architect leaves newswire following government handout|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-2-0-architect-leaves-newswire-following-government-handout-20200925-p55z8z.html|access-date=2020-11-20|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=22 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122023346/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-2-0-architect-leaves-newswire-following-government-handout-20200925-p55z8z.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After relaunching with fewer staff and more infrequent coverage, the AAP asked its existing customers to transition their contracts to the new company at the same rates.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=Samios|first=Zoe|date=2020-08-09|title=AAP newswire customers to pay same price for reduced service|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-newswire-customers-to-pay-same-price-for-reduced-service-20200809-p55jzd.html|access-date=2020-11-19|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|language=en|archive-date=22 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122084735/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aap-newswire-customers-to-pay-same-price-for-reduced-service-20200809-p55jzd.html|url-status=live}}</ref>