News agencies were created to provide newspapers with information about a wide variety of news events happening around the world. Initially the agencies were meant to provide the news items only to newspapers, but with the passage of time the rapidly developing modern mediums such as radio, television and Internet too adapted the services of news agencies.

Founded in 1835 as Agence Havas, and changing its name in 1944, Agence France-Presse (AFP) is the world's oldest news agency, and is the third largest news agency in the modern world after the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters.

Founded in 1846, Associated Press was founded in New York in the U.S. as a not-for-profit news agency. Associated Press was challenged by the 1907 creation of United Press Associations by E.W. Scripps and the International News Service in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst. United Press absorbed INS to form United Press International in 1958.

In 1851, Reuters was founded in England and is now the second largest news agency in the world with over 2,000 offices across the globe.

With the advent of communism in Russia, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) was founded in 1925.

Xinhua was later founded as Red China News Services in the Chinese Soviet Republic.

Political change in the Third World resulted in a new wave of information dissemination and a series of news agencies were born out of it. These agencies later formed their own Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP), which served as a premiere information service in the Third World.

EFE, a Spanish organization, is the biggest Spanish-language news agency, and the fourth largest worldwide. It was founded in 1939.

The largest German-language news agency is Hamburg's DPA. The oldest German news agency still in operation is the Protestant News Agency EPD, tracing back to 1876.

List Below is the list of the principal news agencies.

A–M

Afghanistan Afghan Islamic Press Bakhtar News Agency Khaama Press Pajhwok Afghan News Albania Albanian Telegraphic Agency Algeria Algeria Press Service Angola Angola Press News Agency Argentina Telam Armenia Armenpress PanARMENIAN.Net Australia Australian Associated Press NCA NewsWire Austria Austria Press Agency Azerbaijan AZERTAG Trend News Agency Bahrain Bahrain News Agency Bangladesh Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha Bdnews24.com United News of Bangladesh Belarus BelaPAN BelTA Belgium Belga Benin Agence Bénin Presse Bhutan Bhutan News Service Bolivia Agencia Boliviana de Información Agencia de Noticias Fides Bosnia and Herzegovina FENA - Federal News Agency - Federalna novinska agencija Brazil Agência Brasil Agência Estado Agência O Globo Bulgaria Bulgarian News Agency Cambodia Agence Kampuchea Press Canada The Canadian Press (La Presse Canadienne) Cape Verde Inforpress China China News Service Xinhua CCTV+ Croatia Croatian News Agency Informativna katolička agencija Cuba Prensa Latina Cyprus Cyprus News Agency Czech Republic Czech News Agency Denmark Ritzau East Timor Tatoli Ecuador Public News Agency of Ecuador and South America Egypt Middle East News Agency Estonia Baltic News Service Ethiopia Ethiopian News Agency Fiji Pacnews Finland Suomen Tietotoimisto France Agence France-Presse Germany Deutsche Presse-Agentur Deutsche Textservice Nachrichtenagentur Sport-Informations-Dienst Evangelischer Pressedienst Georgia GHN Ghana Ghana News Agency Greece Athens-Macedonian News Agency Hungary Magyar Távirati Iroda India Asian News International Hindusthan Samachar Indo-Asian News Service Press Trust of India United News of India Indonesia Antara KBR Iran Fars News Agency Iranian Labour News Agency Iranian Students' News Agency Islamic Republic News Agency Mehr News Agency Tasnim News Agency Iraq National Iraqi News Agency The New Region

Israel ITIM Italy Adnkronos Agenzia Giornalistica Italia Agenzia Giornalistica RCS Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata Ansa Mediterranean APCOM ASCA AsiaNews Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Inter Press Service (IPS) Japan Jiji Press Kyodo News Jordan Ammon News Agency Jordan News Agency Kazakhstan Kazinform Kenya Kenya News Agency Kosovo Kosova Press Kuwait Kuwait News Agency Kyrgyzstan AKIpress news agency Kabar Laos Lao News Agency Latvia LETA Lithuania ELTA Malawi Malawi News Agency Malaysia Bernama Mexico Notimex Moldova Moldpres Mongolia Montsame Montenegro Montenegrin News Agency Morocco Maghreb Arabe Press Myanmar Myanmar News Agency Myanmar Now

N–Z

Namibia Namibia Press Agency Nepal Rastriya Samachar Samiti Netherlands Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP) Nigeria News Agency of Nigeria North Korea Korean Central News Agency North Macedonia Media Information Agency Makfax Norway Avisenes Nyhetsbyrå Norsk Telegrambyrå Oman Oman News Agency Pakistan Associated Press of Pakistan Pakistan Press International Palestinian Territories Ma'an News Agency Wafa Peru Andina Philippines Philippine News Agency Poland Polish Press Agency Portugal Agência Lusa Via News Agency Qatar Qatar News Agency Romania AGERPRES Mediafax Rador Russia Interfax Rossiya Segodnya Russian News Agency TASS Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Sahara Press Service São Tomé and Príncipe STP-Press Saudi Arabia International Islamic News Agency Saudi Press Agency Senegal PanaPress Serbia Beta News Agency Tanjug Seychelles Seychelles News Agency Singapore CNA Slovakia News Agency of the Slovak Republic Slovenia Slovenian Press Agency South Africa African News Agency South Korea Newsis Yonhap News Agency South Sudan South Sudan News Agency Spain Agencia EFE Catalan News Agency Europa Press Sri Lanka Lankapuvath Sudan Sudan News Agency Sweden Direkt Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå Switzerland Swiss Telegraphic Agency Syria Hawar News Agency Syrian Arab News Agency Taiwan Central News Agency Tajikistan Khovar Thailand Thai News Agency Tunisia Tunis Afrique Presse Turkey Anadolu Agency Anka News Agency Demirören News Agency İhlas News Agency Turkmenistan Turkmenistan State News Agency Uganda Uganda Radio Network Ukraine Ukrainian Independent Information Agency Ukrainian News Agency Ukrinform United Arab Emirates Emirates News Agency United Kingdom PA Media Reuters BBC News ITN Sky News South West News Service The Guardian United States The Jewish Voice The New York Times Associated Press Bloomberg News Catholic News Agency Catholic News Service Jewish News Syndicate Jewish Telegraphic Agency Religion News Service United Press International Uzbekistan Uzbekistan National News Agency Vatican City Agenzia Fides Venezuela Agencia Venezolana de Noticias Vietnam Vietnam News Agency Yemen Saba News Agency

See also

List of press release agencies

References