Established in 2003 to document the news, administration and governance arms of the AP from its founding in 1846 to present, the AP Corporate Archives today contains collections representing AP institutional history and news reporting, as well as the origin and development of American journalism.
Valerie Komor, director of the Corporate Archives, says:
The Corporate Archives of The Associated Press is unique among news archives because the AP is unique among news organizations. As AP is a not-for-profit cooperative, its governance, administrative and editorial records document not only AP itself but also a broad swath of American newspapers and international clientele that have taken AP’s report over the decades. In that sense, the archives illuminate a key sector of business history and its evolution from 1846 to the present.
In this June 1872 memorandum, Moses Sperry Beach recollects how his father established The Associated Press “during the existence of the Mexican War in 1846-7” by hiring a daily or pony express rider who would speed news dispatches between the port of Mobile and Montgomery, AL. (AP Photo)
Archival collections are available for a variety of uses, including corporate projects, content licensing, research, documentaries and exhibitions
Visit the AP Images Spotlight Blog for more details and photos of Corporate Archives milestones.