Historedia
AmericasEvent

Founding of the Associated Press in New York

When
1846–1851
Where
New York City
Episodes
3

The Associated Press was established in New York City in May 1846 as a cooperative formed by five daily newspapers. This organization was created to share the costs of transmitting news regarding the Mexican–American War, operating as an unincorporated association that distributes reports to its member newspapers and broadcasters.

Episodes

  1. 1846–1849 · New York CityTribune Membership Uncertainty

    Historians debate whether the New-York Tribune joined at the founding, though documents confirm membership in 1849.

  2. May 1846 · New York CityFormation by Five Newspapers

    Five daily newspapers in New York City formed the Associated Press in May 1846 to share the cost of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War.

  3. September 1851 · New York CityNew York Times Joining

    The New York Times became a member of the Associated Press in September 1851.

Background and detail

Background. The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. It operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, producing news reports distributed to its members, including major U.S. daily newspapers and radio and television broadcasters. The organization was formed in May 1846 by five daily newspapers in New York City to share the cost of transmitting news of the Mexican–American War.

Membership. Some historians believe that the New-York Tribune joined the organization at the time of its formation, although documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member in September 1851. The organization has collected and published presidential election data since 1848.

Operations. The Associated Press operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major U.S. daily newspapers and radio and television broadcasters.

People involved

Sources

  1. Associated Press Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.