Reuters
Paul Julius Reuter established a news wire agency at the London Royal Exchange in 1851. He had previously developed a prototype service in Aachen using homing pigeons and electric telegraphy to transmit messages between Brussels and Aachen. The first newspaper client to subscribe was the London Morning Advertiser in 1858. This company initially covered commercial news, serving banks, brokerage houses, and business firms. It became the first to report Abraham Lincoln's assassination in Europe for instance, in 1865. In 1870 the press agencies French Havas, British Reuter's, and German Wolff signed an agreement known as the Ring Combination that set reserved territories for the three agencies. Reuters tended to dominate this combination because its reserved territories were larger or of greater news importance than most others. It also had more staff and stringers throughout the world and thus contributed more original news to the pool. British control of cable lines made London itself an unrivalled centre for world news. In 1872, Reuter's expanded into the Far East, followed by South America in 1874. Both expansions were made possible by advances in overland telegraphs and undersea cables.
In 1916, all shares were purchased by Roderick Jones and Mark Napier who renamed the company Reuters Limited and dropped the apostrophe. In 1923, Reuters began using radio to transmit news internationally, a pioneering act. The Press Association acquired a majority interest in Reuters in 1925 and full ownership some years later. During the world wars, The Manchester Guardian reported that Reuters came under pressure from the British government to serve national interests. In 1941, Reuters deflected the pressure by restructuring itself as a private company. In 1961, Reuters scooped news of the erection of the Berlin Wall. Reuters was one of the first news agencies to transmit financial data over oceans via computers in the 1960s. In 1973, Reuters began making computer-terminal displays of foreign-exchange rates available to clients. In 1981, Reuters began supporting electronic transactions on its computer network and afterwards developed a number of electronic brokerage and trading services. Reuters was floated as a public company in 1984 when Reuters Trust was listed on stock exchanges including the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Reuters was the dominant news service on the Internet in the 1990s. It earned this position by developing a partnership with ClariNet and PointCast, two early Internet-based news providers. Until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc. Reuters was acquired by Thomson Corporation in Canada in 2008, forming Thomson Reuters.
Reuters employs some 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. In May 2000, Kurt Schork, an American reporter, was killed in an ambush while on assignment in Sierra Leone. In April and August 2003, news cameramen Taras Protsyuk and Mazen Dana were killed in separate incidents by U.S. troops in Iraq. In July 2007, Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh were killed when they were struck by fire from a U.S. military Apache helicopter in Baghdad. During 2004, cameramen Adlan Khasanov was killed by Chechen separatists, and Dhia Najim was killed in Iraq. In April 2008, cameraman Fadel Shana was killed in the Gaza Strip after being hit by an Israeli tank. On the 27th of August 2025, cameraman Hussam al-Masri was killed at Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli air strike. In 2020, the photography staff of Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for wide-ranging and illuminating coverage of the 2019, 2020 Hong Kong protests. In 2018, two Reuters journalists were convicted in Myanmar of obtaining state secrets while investigating a massacre in a Rohingya village. The journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, received several awards including the Foreign Press Association Media Award and the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. After 511 days in prison, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were freed on the 7th of May 2019 after receiving a presidential pardon.
Reuters has a policy of taking a value-neutral approach which extends to not using the word terrorist in its stories. The practice attracted criticism following the September 11 attacks. Reuters' editorial policy states that it may refer without attribution to terrorism and counterterrorism in general but does not refer to specific events as terrorism. Nor does Reuters use the word terrorist without attribution to qualify specific individuals, groups or events. In 2004, Reuters asked CanWest Global Communications, a Canadian newspaper chain, to remove Reuters' bylines as the chain had edited Reuters articles to insert the word terrorist. A spokesman for Reuters stated that his goal was to protect reporters and protect editorial integrity. In July 2013, David Fogarty, former Reuters climate change correspondent in Asia, resigned after a career of almost 20 years with the company. He wrote that progressively getting any climate change-themed story published got harder after comments from then-deputy editor-in-chief Paul Ingrassia that he was a climate change sceptic. In August 2006, Reuters announced it had severed all ties with Lebanese freelance photographer Adnan Hajj who used two doctored photos during the Israel, Lebanon conflict. In 2010, Reuters was criticised again by Haaretz for anti-Israeli bias when it cropped the edges of photos removing commandos' knives held by activists.
On the 9th of June 2020, three Reuters journalists incorrectly used the image of an Indian herbal medicine entrepreneur in an exclusive story titled Obscure Indian cyber firm spied on politicians investors worldwide. Indian local media picked up the report and the man whose image was wrongly used was invited and interrogated for nine hours by Indian police. Reuters admitted to the error but Raphael Satter claimed that it had mistaken the man for the suspected hacker Sumit Gupta because both men share the same business address. On the 1st of June 2020, Reuters announced that Russian news agency TASS had joined its Reuters Connect programme comprising a then-total of 18 partner agencies. Two years later, TASS's membership in Reuters Connect came under scrutiny in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the 23rd of March 2022, Reuters removed TASS from its content marketplace. Matthew Keen interim CEO of Reuters said they believed making TASS content available on Reuters Connect is not aligned with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. In December 2023, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the Overseas Citizenship of India status of a Reuters cybersecurity journalist Raphael Satter alleging unauthorized journalistic activities in India.
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Common questions
When did Paul Julius Reuter establish the Reuters news agency?
Paul Julius Reuter established a news wire agency at the London Royal Exchange in 1851. He had previously developed a prototype service in Aachen using homing pigeons and electric telegraphy to transmit messages between Brussels and Aachen.
Who purchased all shares of Reuters Limited in 1916?
Roderick Jones and Mark Napier purchased all shares of Reuters Limited in 1916. They renamed the company Reuters Limited and dropped the apostrophe from its name.
Which Reuters journalists were killed in Iraq during 2003 and 2004?
News cameramen Taras Protsyuk and Mazen Dana were killed by U.S. troops in Iraq in April and August 2003. Cameraman Dhia Najim was also killed in Iraq during 2004.
What happened to TASS membership in Reuters Connect on the 23rd of March 2022?
Reuters removed TASS from its content marketplace on the 23rd of March 2022. Matthew Keen interim CEO stated that making TASS content available was not aligned with Thomson Reuters Trust Principles following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
When did Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo receive a presidential pardon after prison?
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were freed on the 7th of May 2019 after receiving a presidential pardon. They had spent 511 days in prison for obtaining state secrets while investigating a massacre in a Rohingya village.