Reuters

Services and audiences

Core services include a text newswire, news photos and video, data and analytics for financial markets, and licensing of content and images. Typical customers are news organisations, investment firms, corporations and governments. Key offerings often cited are rapid headline dispatches, market-moving financial news and a large photographic archive.

• Realtime newswire and headlines
• Financial data and market terminals
• Photojournalism and video services
• Research, archives and industry reports

History and development

The agency was founded in 1851 in London by the German-born Paul Reuter. In its early years Reuter used carrier pigeons and telegraph links to transmit stock prices and news between European cities, innovations that helped establish the fast-wire model that remains central to the organisation today.

In 2008 Reuters was acquired by the Canadian Thomson Corporation, creating Thomson Reuters. Throughout ownership changes the organisation has referenced formal principles to protect editorial independence; those policies and structures are often highlighted when describing Reuters' institutional role in global journalism and commerce. For more on editorial guidelines and standards see editorial independence.

Reuters is notable both for its scale and for its influence on news distribution and financial information. Its combination of rapid reporting, broad geographic reach and longstanding institutional practices makes it a central provider in contemporary global media and market ecosystems.