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The Canadian Press (often abbreviated as CP), La Presse Canadienne (PC) in French, is Canada's national news agency established in 1917 as a vehicle to permit Canadian newspapers of the day to exchange their news and information. The Toronto-based company is a private, not-for-profit cooperative, owned and operated by its member newspapers. It is similar to the U.S.-based Associated Press (AP).

Contents 1 History 2 Operation 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

Created by an act of Parliament and by means of a an annual financial grant from the government from 1917 to 1924, the news co-operative was formed to help newspapers cover and distribute news across the vast country. Previously, Canada had regional news associations but no national wire service.

Initially operating as a distribution network, its first editorial staff came on board during World War I to report on the efforts of Canadian soldiers overseas. With the arrival of television and radio, The Canadian Press created a subsidiary, Broadcast News, to deliver text specifically written for broadcasters, as well as the production of newscasts and audio clips. The Canadian Press operates in both English and French, Canada's official languages; the French Service was established in 1951 and is named La Presse Canadienne (abbreviated as PC). The Canadian Press has a staff of more than 250 journalists in its bureaus across Canada, as well as a correspondent in Washington, D.C. The news agency operated a bureau in London, England, until 2004, and has had reporters covering the Canadian mission in Afghanistan since 2002.^[1]

[edit] Operation

In addition to providing news to newspapers, TV and radio, The Canadian Press is Canada’s leading provider of online news and photos. It was a pioneer in introducing this online breaking news service in 1996 and now its multimedia content is published by most major Canadian news websites. The Canadian Press launched breaking news video in 2007, with clips produced specifically for websites and wireless services.

On June 30, 2007, CanWest left The Canadian Press cooperative.^[2]

In September 2007, The Canadian Press launched a rebranding campaign in an effort to stay competitive, notably in the wake of the pullout by the CanWest Global's newspaper, television and online news outlets (see below). All of its services, including radio networks Broadcast News and Nouvelles télé-radio, were rolled into a single brand: The Canadian Press. The change marked the end of the familiar (CP) service logo.^[3]

The Canadian Press also operates the largest online editorial archive of news pictures capturing Canada, its people and history, shot by award-winning photojournalists. It was the first in Canada to develop this online archive in 1996 and now it is home to over two million digital images with hundreds of images added each day. These photos appear in newspapers, books and magazines, and online.

Through a longstanding partnership, The Canadian Press is the exclusive distributor of The Associated Press (AP) and Associated Press Television News (APTN) material in Canada. The AP is the exclusive distributor of The Canadian Press in the United States and worldwide.

In addition to news and information, The Canadian Press publishes the Stylebook and Caps and Spelling book, which are considered the chief style guides for Canadian journalists, public relations professionals, editors and writers of all disciplines.

Through an alliance with The Canadian Press since 2004, Marketwire is the only news release distributor with exclusive access to send press releases and PR photos on behalf of clients over the same Canadian Press Wire Network used to deliver Canadian Press news copy directly into the editorial systems of more than 600 newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites across Canada.

On March 11, 2009, Sun Media announced that it would also be pulling out of the cooperative.^[4]

[edit] See also

• Canadian Press Cable Service
• CNW Group

[edit] References

1. ^ The Canadian Press
2. ^ Canadian Press Wire Service Well Prepared If CanWest Pulls Out | Trends & Events > Talks & Meetings from AllBusiness.com
3. ^ http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/09/16/4501398-cp.html
4. ^ http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090311.wrcanadianpress12/BNStory/Business/home

[edit] External links

• The Canadian Press Official Website
• Marketwire