Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Australian Associated Press was established in 1935 when Keith Murdoch brokered a merger between two competitors. This event created a not-for-profit cooperative initially owned by fourteen newspaper shareholders.
Keith Murdoch served as the first chairman of the Australian Associated Press from 1935 until 1940. He previously headed the United Cable Service which merged with the existing association to form the new entity.
The service became unsustainable due to competition with free online content and significant financial challenges. Shareholders decided to break up and shut down the newswire on the 20th of March 2020 before it officially ceased operations in June.
A consortium bought the agency for $1 and relaunched it as a not-for-profit on the 1st of August 2020 under the name Acta Diurna AAP Limited. Peter Tonagh led this group of impact investors and philanthropists while Andrew Drummond remained editor.
Around 1000 journalists worked there during that period while the newsroom grew from 40 journalists in 1970 to 120 in 1980. The agency launched a full domestic news service in 1980 which expanded its operational scope significantly.