Associated Press
The world's oldest and largest not-for-profit news wire, trusted for breaking international events.
Last refreshed: 30 March 2026
Can AP's cooperative funding model survive the collapse of member newspapers?
Latest on Associated Press
- What is the Associated Press?
- The Associated Press (AP) is the world's oldest and largest not-for-profit news cooperative, founded in 1846. It is owned by roughly 1,400 US member newspapers and employs about 2,500 journalists in over 250 locations across 100 countries.Source: AP
- How did AP report from inside Tehran during the 2026 conflict?
- AP published the most detailed dispatch from inside Tehran of any international outlet during the 2026 Iran-Israel-US conflict. It documented a city without air raid sirens, internet, or bomb shelters, and reported visible damage to the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace.Source: AP Tehran dispatch
- How does AP differ from Reuters as a news agency?
- AP is a US-based not-for-profit cooperative owned by member newspapers; Reuters is a for-profit subsidiary of Thomson Reuters Corporation listed on stock exchanges. Both operate global wire services, but AP's non-profit structure means it is not answerable to shareholders.Source: AP
- Is the Associated Press independent?
- AP's cooperative, non-profit structure makes it independent of any single commercial owner or government. Its members are US newspapers, which gives it editorial autonomy, though critics have raised concerns about how member pressure and funding constraints affect coverage priorities.Source: AP
- How many journalists does AP have?
- AP employs roughly 2,500 journalists and other staff across more than 250 locations in over 100 countries, making it one of the largest news-gathering operations in the world.Source: AP
Background
The Associated Press was founded in 1846 in New York as a cooperative wire service, allowing member newspapers to share the cost of telegraph dispatches. It is structured as a non-profit cooperative owned by its 1,400-plus US member newspapers, making it structurally independent of commercial media empires. Today it employs roughly 2,500 journalists in more than 250 locations across 100 countries.
During the Iran-Israel-US conflict of 2026, AP produced the most detailed reporting from inside Tehran of any international outlet. Its dispatch documented a city of 14 million people without air raid sirens, functioning internet, or bomb shelters; residents reported sore throats and burning eyes from toxic smoke rising off burning refineries . The report captured visible damage to the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace.
AP's cooperative structure gives it unmatched global reach but raises a persistent tension: member newspapers are under severe financial pressure, threatening the funding model that underwrites foreign bureaux. When conflict zones become inaccessible to most outlets, AP's embedded access becomes the primary record, making editorial independence a matter of public consequence.
