Overview

Reuters is a British international news agency founded in London in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter. It began as a service for transmitting commercial and financial information, using the expanding telegraph network to deliver market news more quickly than conventional mail. Over time, the agency developed into one of the world's principal suppliers of general news, financial reporting, photographs, video, and multimedia services. Reuter first tested a news service in Aachen, where homing pigeons helped bridge a gap in the telegraph network between Brussels and Aachen. After moving to London, he established a news office at the Royal Exchange and built a business serving banks, brokers, merchants, and newspapers. Reuters became known not only for financial information but also for rapid international reporting. Its early achievements included breaking major political and commercial stories and extending coverage through undersea cables, overland telegraph lines, radio, and later computer networks. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Reuters expanded its geographic reach and became part of the international press-agency system alongside Agence Havas and Wolff. Its ownership and governance changed several times, including periods under private owners, the Press Association, newspaper organizations, and the Reuters Trust. The Trust Principles were designed to protect integrity, independence, freedom from bias, and reliable news provision. Reuters subsequently became a publicly traded company in 1984. The agency was an early adopter of electronic financial information. It introduced computer-terminal displays for foreign-exchange rates in the 1970s and later developed electronic brokerage, trading, market-data, and workflow services. These activities helped make Reuters an important competitor in the institutional financial-information market, alongside Bloomberg and other specialist providers. In 2008, the Thomson Corporation acquired Reuters Group and created Thomson Reuters. The transaction combined Reuters' news and financial-information operations with Thomson's professional and business-information businesses. Reuters News remains a major operating division and supplies text, pictures, video, graphics, and data to publishers, broadcasters, governments, corporations, and other professional customers. Products and services include Reuters Connect, digital and multimedia content, licensing arrangements, and specialized news feeds. The brand also publishes directly to consumers through Reuters.com and related digital platforms. Reuters operates through a large international reporting network. Reference material describes approximately 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists working in about 200 locations across roughly 165 countries and producing material in 16 languages. Its editorial standards emphasize accuracy, speed, fairness, disclosure of relevant interests, and independence. Reuters has also attracted scrutiny over its language policies, coverage choices, and the safety and treatment of journalists working in conflict zones. The brand's current positioning combines trusted international reporting with scalable content and data services for professional customers. It serves both wholesale clients and a growing digital audience. The Reuters name remains associated with fast, fact-based reporting, financial and economic intelligence, global politics, business, and visual journalism. Its work has received numerous international honors, including Pulitzer Prizes for photography, international reporting, and national reporting.

History

Paul Julius Reuter established the agency in London in 1851 after experimenting with telegraphy and homing pigeons in Aachen. The original business concentrated on commercial and financial messages, but newspapers soon became important customers. Reuters' speed and international reach allowed it to report political, military, and economic events for clients beyond Britain. The agency expanded into the Far East in 1872 and South America in 1874. Its growth depended on telegraph cables, international communications infrastructure, and contractual relationships with national news organizations. In 1870, Reuters joined Havas and Wolff in an arrangement that divided broad geographic reporting territories among the agencies. Although the system later changed, it helped establish Reuters as one of the principal global news suppliers. Reuter retired as managing director in 1878 and was succeeded by his son Herbert de Reuter. The company began transmitting messages electrically to London newspapers in 1883. Herbert de Reuter died in 1915, after which the business returned to private ownership. Roderick Jones and Mark Napier acquired the shares in 1916, renamed the company Reuters Limited, and removed the apostrophe from its name. Reuters adopted radio transmission for international news in 1923. The Press Association acquired a majority interest in 1925 and later obtained full ownership. During the period of the world wars, Reuters faced pressure connected with national interests and sought to preserve its independence through a restructured ownership model. In 1941, the Press Association sold half of the company to the Newspaper Proprietors' Association. Ownership was broadened in 1947 to include newspaper associations in Australia and New Zealand, and the owners established the Reuters Trust. The Trust Principles became a central part of the agency's identity and editorial reputation. In the 1960s, Reuters transmitted financial information internationally using computers. In 1973, it introduced computer-terminal displays for foreign-exchange rates, and in 1981 it began supporting electronic transactions over its computer network. These developments led to electronic brokerage and trading services and transformed Reuters from a traditional press agency into a major financial-information and technology provider. Reuters became a public company in 1984, with shares listed in London and on NASDAQ. It continued to expand its electronic information services and became an influential source for news on the emerging internet during the 1990s, working with early online distributors such as ClariNet and PointCast. The company moved to 30 South Colonnade in Canary Wharf in 2005. The Thomson Corporation's acquisition of Reuters Group in 2008 created Thomson Reuters. The transaction ended Reuters' period as an independent listed group while preserving Reuters News as a core business within the new corporation. Thomson Reuters later reorganized its portfolio, including the sale of its intellectual-property and science business in 2016. Steve Hasker became president and chief executive of Thomson Reuters in 2020. Reuters continued to develop direct digital distribution. It announced a paywall and subscription approach for Reuters.com in 2021, while maintaining wholesale services for publishers and professional customers. Its journalists and visual staff have received major awards, including Pulitzer recognition for photography in 2020 and 2024 and journalism concerning Myanmar, business, and international affairs. The agency's recent identity combines a global reporting network, digital publishing, licensed content, and professional news products under the ownership of Thomson Reuters.

2021
Reuters.com subscription strategy announced
[5]Reuters.com subscription strategy announcedreuters.com
Reuters announced that its consumer website would introduce paid access through a paywall.
2020
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography
[4]Pulitzer Prize: Photography Staff of Reuterspulitzer.org
Reuters photography staff won for coverage of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.
2008
Thomson Reuters created
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
The Thomson Corporation acquired Reuters Group and formed Thomson Reuters Corporation.
1984
Reuters became publicly traded
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters Trust was floated on public markets, including the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
1981
Electronic transaction services developed
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters began supporting electronic transactions over its computer network.
1973
Foreign-exchange terminal service launched
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters made foreign-exchange rates available to customers through computer terminals.
1941
Reuters Trust ownership structure established
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
A restructured ownership model was introduced to support the agency's independence during wartime.
1923
Radio transmission introduced
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters began using radio to transmit international news.
1872
Expansion into the Far East
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters extended its reporting and communications network into the Far East.
1870
International press-agency agreement
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Reuters, Havas, and Wolff created an arrangement that allocated broad reporting territories among the agencies.
1858
First newspaper subscription
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
The London Morning Advertiser became the first newspaper identified as subscribing to Reuters' service.
1851
Reuters founded in London
[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
Paul Julius Reuter established a news and commercial-information agency at the London Royal Exchange.

Products and positioning

A globally distributed, independent, standards-led news and information provider serving media organizations, professional institutions, businesses, governments, and consumers.

Content platform
Reuters Connect
A platform through which publishers, broadcasters, and other customers can access Reuters text, photographs, video, graphics, and material from selected third-party providers. It is designed for newsroom workflows and multimedia content discovery.
Newswire
Reuters News Agency Services
Wholesale news services supplying written reporting, live updates, visuals, video, graphics, and specialized coverage to media organizations and institutional customers. The service draws on Reuters' international bureau and correspondent network.
Digital news
Reuters.com
Reuters' consumer-facing digital publication, covering world affairs, business, markets, technology, politics, and other subjects. The site has increasingly combined open distribution with subscription and registration products.
Financial information
Reuters financial information services
A family of historical and current services providing financial news, market information, and data to professional users. Reuters' financial-information activities grew from its early commercial-news business and computer-terminal services.

Controversies

2021
Reuters deletes and corrects tweet, apologizes
In November 2021, Reuters deleted and corrected a tweet that promoted a story. The tweet had used a photo of Chinese soldiers that was unrelated to the story and prompted outrage in China. Reuters apologized for the offense the tweet caused. The incident is recorded as a controversy note concerning the news agency's social media posting.
Source
2020
Myanmar army lawsuit against Reuters
Myanmar police said the army had filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Reuters over its report on the deaths of two Rohingya women. The army had disputed the report's account of responsibility for the deaths.
Source
2018
Myanmar imprisonment of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo
Two Reuters journalists were convicted under Myanmar's official-secrets law while investigating a massacre involving Rohingya civilians. Their convictions were widely criticized as an attack on press freedom, and both were released by presidential pardon in 2019.
Source
2013
Dispute over climate-change coverage
Former Reuters climate correspondent David Fogarty said his specialist role had been abolished and criticized the organization's treatment of climate reporting. Reuters responded that it maintained dedicated climate coverage and had not changed its editorial policy.
Source
1977
Allegations of cooperation with the CIA
Rolling Stone and The New York Times reported allegations, attributed to CIA officials, that Reuters had cooperated with the agency. Reuters rejected the allegation and said supporting evidence had not been provided.
Source

Brand decisions

2021
Introduce paid access for Reuters.comStrategy
Background
Reuters faced the same structural pressure as many digital publishers to develop reader revenue while continuing to distribute content through professional and media customers.
Action taken
The company announced a metered paywall and subscription approach for its consumer website.
Aftermath
Reuters continued to operate a mixed model combining direct digital publishing, subscriptions, advertising, and wholesale licensing.
Source
2008
Combination with Thomson CorporationM&A
Background
Reuters Group and the Thomson Corporation sought to combine complementary news, financial, professional, and business-information operations.
Action taken
The transaction created Thomson Reuters Corporation and made Reuters News part of the combined group.
Aftermath
Reuters continued as a major news and content operation under Thomson Reuters, while the parent company reorganized its wider portfolio.
Source

Recent events

2024
Gannett agreed to use Reuters global news content[9]甘尼特同意使用路透社的全球新闻内容reuters.com
M&A · Other
The agreement expanded Reuters' supply relationship with a major United States newspaper publisher.
2024
Reuters journalists received Pulitzer recognition for reporting and photography[10]路透社记者因报道和摄影获得普利策奖认可pulitzer.org
Other
Reuters staff were recognized for national reporting concerning Elon Musk's businesses and for breaking-news photography from the Gaza war.
2021
Reuters announced a metered paywall for its website[5]Reuters.com subscription strategy announcedreuters.com
Pricing
Reuters said Reuters.com would move toward paid digital access, following a broader industry shift toward subscription news.
2009
Thomson Reuters withdrew from the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ[11]汤森路透从伦敦证券交易所和纳斯达克退市en.wikipedia.org
Other
The parent company moved its primary listings to the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.
2008
Thomson Corporation acquired Reuters Group[1]Reutersen.wikipedia.org
M&A
The acquisition created Thomson Reuters and placed Reuters News within the combined information company.

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Thomson Reuters