EOTO 1 What I Learned: The Associated Press

The Associated Press

 1846

    The Associated Press is a non-profit American news agency based in New York City. It operates as a co-op association and produces news that is distributed to its 1,400 members. The Associated Press was formed in 1846 by several daily newspapers in New York. they did this to divide the expenses of delivering news of the Mex-American War. Moses Beach started the cooperative endeavor, he was then joined by The Sun, The New York Herald, The New York Courier and Enquirer, The Journal of Commerce, and the New York Evening Express. The New York Times became a member in September 1851.

    Known formerly as the New York Associated Press, the growing organization had harsh competition from the Western Associated Press founded in 1862. The AP was criticized for being a monopoly and for selling highly sought-after news for high prices. in 1892 Victor Lawson, of the Chicago Daily News, did an investigation and discovered that the AP had secret agreements with United Press for using and selling AP news content. The investigation led to the downfall of the AP and in the same year, the Western Associated Press was incorporated as the Associated Press. In 1900 there was an Illinois Supreme Court decision that the AP was a public utility or a public “necessity” which prohibited many of their practices. This is what encouraged the AP to move from Chicago to New York City, where laws were more favorable to co-op corporations.

    The structure of content owned by the Associated Press has opened many doors. Now, outlets such as Yahoo! and MSN are posting AP articles and rely on them as their top source for current news. This and the continued evolution that news stories require have continued to have a lasting impact on the public image as well as the role of the Associated Press. giving new credence to the AP's ongoing mission of having staff for covering every area of news fully and promptly. A study by NewsWhip in 2017 uncovered that the content engaged with the most on Facebook more than any other publisher was that of the Associated Press.

 

Today, reporters within the Associated Press: 

• Write/publish 2,000 stories everyday

• Publish 1 million photos per year

• Release 70,000 videos per year

• Operate in 263 locations, more than 100 countries

In My Own Words: Why Am I a Journalism Major?

 

When I think about what it takes to be a Journalist, three attributes come to mind: determination, bravery, and grit; Getting information from different, sometimes unwilling, sources takes determination; Considering you want to get information, legitimate information, you must be dedicated to your craft and to your duty as a figure who spreads details to the public; To go against any major corporation, especially the United States government, is a dangerous and sometimes legally complicated game. The government has constantly attempted to use charges such as defamation and slander to scare journalists away from speaking the truth that the government doesn't want the public to see; this is why I say bravery is a must in this position. Lastly, grit, to have grit is to have unbreakable character; When working in the trivial world that is journalism and possibly politics, there are times when you could be bribed, forced into spreading misinformation, or made to hide your findings from the public regardless of how important they may be. I see grit as a necessity because if you have strong character and values, you will remain committed to your duty and spread truthful and quality information to the deserving citizens of the world and not let any form of corruption stand in the way of that. All of this to say: I believe my family has raised me to possess all these traits. I know I am a part of a family that tells the truth no matter the consequence. I also know on condition that I have to stand in a line of fire for speaking the truth and doing my duty as a journalist. I would not stand alone. No amount of money can replace the responsibility of being an honorable and trustworthy journalist. And that is what I aspire to be.

What Has Inspired me?

   My father, Brian Lashond Rollins, died in his jail cell when I was 5-years-old. I've read his certificate of death several times throughout my life. The story given by the police was that my father killed himself by hanging with a sheet. My father was said to have been hanging in his cell for nearly 15 minutes. After plenty of research on the practices of many jails and prisons, guards were meant to have checked on him before and within that time frame. Because my father's death was declared a suicide, my mother received no assistance to help raise me. My sister and I watched her struggle. As a child, it was hard to accept that my father chose to leave the world, to leave me. But as I grew up, I realized that things in the story of his death weren't adding up. Especially since my father had been to jail multiple times and his sentencing for this term was less than five months. This realization, as well as my constant journaling about my father's death, is what led me to pursue investigative journalism. I want to get the facts in every situation so nobody, child or adult, has to experience the pain and uncertainty I face every day. In many ways, I did not discover journalism so much as my life has prepared me to be a journalist

NPPA: National Press Photographers Association

National Press Photographers Association is a professional association composed of photographers, videographers, editors and journalism students. The U.S association was  founded in 1946 by American photographer Joseph Costa, and is currently based in the Grady College of Journalism And Mass Media at UGA.

The NPPA takes the authenticity and accuracy of their work very seriously. They believe that it is the job of every professional photo journalist to use their skills to help everyone better understand the information they are provided about the myriad of current events that are reported on daily. The organization's website has the following statement of purpose:

"The National Press Photographers Association, a professional society dedicated to the advancement of photojournalism, acknowledges concern and respect for the public's natural-law, right to freedom in searching for the truth and the right to be informed truthfully and completely about public events and the world in which we live. NPPA believes that no report can be complete if it is possible to enhance and clarify the meaning of the words. We believe that pictures, whether used to depict news events as they actually happen, illustrate news that has happened, or to help explain anything of public interest, are indispensable means of keeping people accurately informed, that they help all people, young and old, to better understand any subject in the public domain. NPPA recognizes and acknowledges that photojournalists should at all times maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct in serving the public interest."

This purpose statement is very fitting considering that anyone that is familiar with the National Press Photographers Association is also familiar with their very strict code of ethics that every member of the association is expected to respect and follow. The code of ethic includes statements such as "It is the individual responsibility of every photojournalist all times to strive for pictures that report truthfully, honestly and objectively." and even mission statements like "It is our duty to encourage and assist all members of our profession, individually and collectively, so that the quality of photojournalism may constantly be raised to higher standards." 

The NPPA is very involved in advocating for the First Amendment rights of both photo and video journalists. They believe that journalism is "essential" and that their work doesn't just benefit them but the public as a whole.

• In 2019 the organization was a part of several lawsuits to defend photographers First Amendment rights against unconstitutional laws

• In June 2020 they were involved with supporting Journalists who were injured or arrested while in the field by partnering with the Press Freedom Defense Fund.

Queen Annes Revenge ship wreckage. (Photo courtesy of National Geographic)

• The NPPA, among 13 other organizations, were in support of photographer Frederick Allen after pictures he took of the shipwreck of Queen Anne's Revenge were used by the state of NC. Allen sued for copyright infringement while the state court dismissed the case due to CRCA, in 2019 the case went to the Supreme Court which deemed that CRCA was unconstitutional according to the first and fifth article of the constitution.

For more on the NPPA and it's advocacy work please visit their website here 

The six key objectives of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) are as follows:

1. To advance press photography in all its branches
2. To promote the general welfare and conditions in the press photography field
3. To create, promote, and maintain cordial relations and cooperation, a higher spirit of fraternalism, the interchange of thought and opinion freely, and a high standard of conduct among its members
4. To distribute and disseminate accurate information in regard to matters pertaining to the photographic press of the nation
5. To settle equitably and justify the differences between its members
6. To preserve, stabilize, unify, and coordinate all elements of the photographic press of the nation

(Courtesy of the NPPA)

The NPPA has the goal of protecting the first amendment right of journalists in order to best serve the general public and provide essential information to simplify interpretation of daily reported current events. The mission of the NPPA is a noble one because they are holding the government accountable for the constitution it is mean to uphold.

Where I Get My Information: My Top Five News Sources

  When looking for news or information that is credible and legitimate, I turn to several different news outlets. When deciding whether or not to use certain outlets I think about their credibility, history, the stories they tend to cover, and whether or not they've been deemed a somewhat credible source by the general, news-reading public. Listed below are my top five "go-to" news sources and a brief description of why I support each of the outlets or encourage others to use them.

My first website of choice is typically CNN. This is because I have the CNN app on my phone and that is usually the first place I hear about news from. I also have a strong connection to CNN because it is the news company that I'd like to work for after my time at High Point University is over. Because CNN is known to be a biased and strongly democratic news channel, I try to balance out the perspectives by also turning to competing news broadcasts.

I also watch Fox News, which is known to be a strongly conservative competitor of CNN. Both of these news channels tend to contradict one another in the political aspect but do well removing political opinions when it comes to everyday, local and international news. Because both of these sources lean a particular way I have to use a more neutral source as well. Another source that I tend to get my news from is MSNBC...

I use MSNBC as a news source because it is bipartisan compared to CNN and Fox News. I feel that this helps balance things out when it comes to forming an educated opinion. MSNBC is based in New York City and is known for creating quality news shows for the morning, afternoon, and night audiences. Though many people claim that MSNBC News is left-leaning, I do not see such aggressive political advocacy here as I do while watching or reading news stories from CNN or Fox News

I use Twitter to get a lot of information on certain topics quickly. Twitter has always been a place where people can speak their minds and get more perspectives and information on topics. Though Twitter may not be recognized as a professional and credible news source it's a very useful application to see other people's thoughts on different situations going on in the world. It is fair to say that many social media outlets are becoming bigger sources for quick news due to advancements in technology, companies, politicians, and celebrities alike can post to social media and gain more coverage than if they were to publish a news article.

Finally, I get a good amount of my information from the social media app, Snapchat. Yes, the one with the white ghost and filters. Many people don't realize that Snapchat has many partnerships with news providers like The Daily Mail. while taking a break from my pictures or messaging with friends I can click on a daily mail story and be taken through several different articles regarding politics, celebrity news, and international news. There are several other news providers one can access on Snapchat as well and you will get all the most important information about a story in just a couple of taps and swipes.