Evening star., 1939-09-20
BY the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, Sept. 20.-Storm
center of controversy and debate at
the time of its Inauguration less
than five years ago, the worlds only
news picture transmission network
observed a notable milestone today
by addition of the Tooth newspaper
to its list of subscribers.
The international system is known
familiarly to editors and readers
alike as Associated Press Wirephoto.
Requiring only eight minutes for
each picture, it simultaneously de-
livers approximately so news photos
every day to participating news
papers from Canada to Florida and
from the Atlantic to the PACIFIC.
making it possible to publish the
pictorial history of almost any event
within a matter of minutes after 1t
occurs.
The Tooth Associated Press men,
ber to subscribe was the Los Angeles
Examiner, the third Hearst paper
in as many weeks.
The addition brought to 81 the
number of papers added to the list
in the last three months
Smaller Cities Also Served.
Although the original subscribers
were exclusively metropolitan news
papers, many of the recent additions
have been papers publishing IN cities
of 10000 to $1,000 population.
One of the objections to the revo-
lutionary service. put forward by op-
ponents at the time the Associated
Press inaugurated the service in
1885, was that it would prove to be
a luxury" which only the very
largest newspapers ever could afford
as service to their readers. Others
hailed it as "the most progressive
step in journalism since the intro
duction of the Morse telegraph in
1846," and Kent Cooper, general
manager of the non-proflt, CO.
operative news gathering association,
at the time promised that develop
ments in the system he proposed to
pioneer eventually would bring the
service within the reach Of virtually
every member newspaper, large and
small alike.
World Distribution Record.
Still the only photo network in
existence, Wirephoto has grown un-
til now it serves more newspapers by
wire than all of the other picture
gathering organizations in the world
combined.
In addition to serving the main
network points, the system also
makes it possible for the Associated
Press news photo service to mat pic
lures speedily at strategic points
over the country, thereby providing
a fast news mat budget for upward
of 600 other members whose needs
are less extensive This service is
called telemats.
Development of wirephoto was the
outcome of many years OF scientific
research for method of transmit
ting pictures by wire, just as news is
sent, in order to keep pace with the
journalistic technique of printing
the news and pictures Of any event
in companion columns. Prior to
wirephoto, the fastest method o1
transmitting pictures had been by
train, plane or bus, and as a con-
sequence it frequently was days OF
weeks after story appeared ir
print before the illustrating picture
found it's way to the public eye.
Perfected in 1894.
The principle of wirephoto was
developed on practical basis by
Bell Laboratorie in 1884, and the
Associated Press. under the leader
ship of General Manager Cooper
arranged to take over the mechan-
ism for its exclusive use in deliver
ing pictures to its Nationwide list
of member newspapers. Opponents
of such a plan, both within and
without the membership, raised OBJ
jections, which were discussed fully