Lost Glory of the Associated Press

It doesn’t take much to lose credibility in today’s world, even when it has been built up over many decades. Founded as a voluntary organization of newspapers in 1846 to facilitate transmission of news of the Mexican War (yes, I still use the old term), the Associated Press grew into a behemoth of leased telephone lines and pooled reporters. There were many alliances and agreements and split-offs between it and other press associations over the years. Its power became so great that the government used antitrust legislation to loosen its stranglehold on the news in the 1940s.