United Press International

United Press International (UPI) is a global news agency headquartered in the United States filing news in English, Spanish and Arabic. With roots dating back to 1907, it was once one of the three biggest news agencies in the world, with the Associated Press and Reuters, but has dwindled in size and continues to redefine itself. Today, it is owned by News World Communications, which is in turn wholly owned by the Unification Church.

History

Newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps combined three regional news services (the Publisher's Press Association, Scripps McRae Press Association, and the Scripps News Association) into the United Press Associations, which began service on June 21, 1907. Scripps founded United Press on the principle that there should be no restrictions on who could buy news from a news service. This formula made UP a direct threat to the monopolistic and exclusionary alliances of the major U.S. and European wire services at the time.

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UP's announcement on July 15 said: "It is announced that the United Press will not be run on narrow or monopolistic lines, but will seek to give fair and impartial service to all legitimate newspaper publishers in the field." Scripps later said: "I regard my life's greatest service to the people of this country to be the creation of the United Press," because the competition provided by UP prevented the Associated Press from having a monopoly in determining what news was provided to the public.

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On May 24, 1958, United Press merged with International News Service, which had been formed in 1909 by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, to become United Press International. UPI, in later 1958, launched the UPI Audio Network, the first wire service radio network.

Related Topics:
1958 - International News Service - 1909 - William Randolph Hearst

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UPI was hurt by changes in the modern news business, including the closing of many of America's afternoon newspapers, and was unprofitable for years as its customer base shrank. It went through seven owners between 1992 and 2000, when it was acquired by News World Communications, owner of the Washington Times. The connection with the Unification Church raised some concerns, most notably from Helen Thomas, who resigned her position as UPI's chief White House correspondent after 57 tears.

Related Topics:
News World Communications - Washington Times - Helen Thomas

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But UPI Editor of English edition, Martin Walker, a winner of Britain's 'Reporter of the Year' award when he worked for The Guardian, says he has experienced "no editorial pressure from the owners - which very few British newspaper editors can claim in the era of Rupert Murdoch and Conrad Black."

Related Topics:
The Guardian - Rupert Murdoch - Conrad Black

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With new investment from News World in its Arabic and Spanish-language services, UPI has been trying to make a comeback. In 2004, UPI won the Clapper Award from the Senate Press Gallery and the Fourth Estate Award for its investigative reporting on the dilapidated hospitals awaiting wounded U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq.

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