The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-04-28
The Associated Press
A Story Of the Worlds Great News Gathering Organization.
By Frank B. Noyes, President of The Associated Press.

Probably no Institution is more
widely known by name than The AS
ISOLATED Press and, on the other hand,
more vaguely understood by the pub
lie as to it's organization and it's func-
tions. Fol whatever cause this may
be, that it is a fact is daily apparent.
The Associated Press is an %associa-
ton of something over $50 newspa-
pers, operating under a charter Of the
state of New York as a mutual and
cooperative organization for the in
terchange and collection of news.
Under the terms of it's charter the
corporation is not to make a profit
nor to make or declare dividends and
Is not to engage in the business Of
selling intelligence nor traffic in the
same"
In other words, The Associated
Press is simply a common agent of
it's members by which they arrange an
Interchange of the news that each
collects. and is bound by its member
ship obligation to contribute for the
use of it's fellow-mombers
dIlu dlSO DIS LlC d6CllCN llIOu6l
reports of foreign and cretain classes
Of domestic happenings are collected
and distributed to the newspapers
served by the organization.
The fact that in the presnt year we
celebrate the goth anniversary of the
first nationwide cooperative and
non-profit-making neWs-gathering Or
g%anization in the world seems to
make the publication Of something
respecting it timely.
The Associated Press is in no wise
t;:ting its membership; it is distinctly
their servant.
Its board of directors is composed
OF active newspaper men chosen at
annual meetings by the membership
and, in an experience running
through 20 years Of intimate connec-
ton with the present organization and
also that of the older Illinois corpora
ton, / have never now an instance
in all the changing personnel of
boards of directors when there was
any departure from the most rigid
observance of the highest obligations
M lluolCSAlllp lllu tAo 4SSo VI -
vate and selfish interests. The presi-
dent, vice-presidents, and members of
the board Of directors serve without
salaries.
The Associated Press of today is
the outcome of a many-year struggle
between two opposing systems. One,
that Of news-gathering concerns with
private or limited ownership which
dealt at arm's-length with newspa"
pers to which they sold news at such
profit as might be secured. and owe
which the newspapers who bought
from them a no more control than
over the paper-mill supplying them
With print paper.
The other system is based on the
theory that a powerful, privately
owned and controlled news-gathering
agency is a menac to the press and
people.
Determined to establish an agency
subject only to the control Of the
newspapers for whom it acted, in 1893
q group of western men composing
the Western Associated Press began
a fight to attain this end, and since
that time a contest between these wv
opposing principles has beer ~aged.
Press, as today constituted, is the
servan and agent only of the news
papers for which it acts, l have no
thought of minimizing the remen
dOus Importance of the work it does
as such an agent, but wish simply to
emphasize the thought that properly
speaking it has no entity of its won,
no mission save to serve it's members.
Its members are scattered from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada
to the Gulf, n represent every pos
slble shade of political belief, religious
faith, and economic sympathy. 1t is
can have no partisan nor fractional
bias, no religious affilation, no capt.
talistic nor pro-labor trend.
Its function is simply to furnish it's
members with a truthful, clean, com
prehensive, non-partisan-and this in
its broadcast sense-report of the news
of the world as expeditiously as is
compatible with accuracy n as eco
nOmically as possible.
To do this the newspapers compos
ing it's membership contribute first,
the neWs Of their localities and Sec
ond, weekly assessments of money ag-
%gregating about 100000 per annum,
with which an extensive system of
leased wires is maintained co. 900
miles of wire in the daytime and 49,
900 miles of wire at night, bureaus
in ,he principal American cities sup
rlementing n %collating the news of
local newspapers inc bureaus for the
original collection of news through
out the world.
The volume of the news report to
members varies greatly, ranging from
500 words daily by telegraph or tele-
phonetic papers able to utilize but a
small amount of general news matter,
to more than $4,000 words daily or