Which is the oldest news agency in the world, founded in 1835 as Agence Havas?
- A.Associated Press
- B.Reuters
- C.Agence France-Presse
- D.United Press International
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Agence France-Presse. Charles-Louis Havas opened Agence Havas in Paris in 1835 to translate and sell foreign news, which makes it the first news agency in the world; the business was reorganised in 1944 and has been known since then as Agence France-Presse. Option A, the Associated Press, was formed in New York in 1846 by a group of newspapers and remains a cooperative of its members, but it is eleven years younger. Option B, Reuters, was started in London in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter, who had himself worked in the Havas office in Paris before setting up on his own. Option D, United Press International, began only in 1907 as United Press. The chain Havas, then Reuters and Wolff, is a favourite of examiners because all three grew out of the same Paris office.
Read the full article: Newspapers and News Agencies of the World: Notes
Practice Questions
View allThe news agency Reuters, founded in London in 1851, was started by:
- A.Charles-Louis Havas
- B.Paul Julius Reuter
- C.Joseph Pulitzer
- D.Bernhard Wolff
Show answer
Paul Julius Reuter, who had earlier worked for Havas in Paris and had used carrier pigeons to carry stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, moved to London and founded his telegraph news office there in 1851, close to the Stock Exchange.
Read the full explanation →Xinhua is the official news agency of which country?
- A.Japan
- B.China
- C.Russia
- D.South Korea
Show answer
Xinhua, whose name means new China, was set up in 1931 as the Red China News Agency, took its present name in 1937 and works from Beijing as the state news agency of the People's Republic of China.
Read the full explanation →Yonhap is the national news agency of which country?
- A.Malaysia
- B.Indonesia
- C.South Korea
- D.Vietnam
Show answer
Yonhap News Agency works from Seoul and is the main wire service of the Republic of Korea, widely quoted abroad for reports on the Korean peninsula.
Read the full explanation →In 1976, during the Emergency, four Indian news agencies were merged into a single agency named:
- A.Akashvani
- B.Samachar
- C.Bharat Samachar
- D.Rashtriya Samachar
Show answer
In 1976 the government merged the Press Trust of India, United News of India, Hindustan Samachar and Samachar Bharati into one agency called Samachar, a step widely seen as part of the control of the press during the Emergency.
Read the full explanation →The Press Trust of India (PTI) is best described as:
- A.A department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- B.A non-profit cooperative owned by Indian newspapers
- C.A public sector undertaking of the Union Government
- D.A subsidiary of Prasar Bharati
Show answer
The Press Trust of India was registered in 1947 and began work in 1949, taking over the business of the Associated Press of India, and it is owned by the newspapers that subscribe to it; its surplus goes back into the service rather than to shareholders.
Read the full explanation →