press-agency

A journalist reads a press-agency report at her desk.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • An organization that collects and distributes news: "press-agency" refers to a business or service that gathers news reports and supplies them to newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, and other media outlets.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The press-agency sent out a bulletin about the earthquake within minutes. (The news organization distributed information quickly.)
  • Many local newspapers rely on a press-agency for international stories. (The agency provides news from abroad.)

Advanced Usage

• "to work for a press-agency": to be employed by a news-gathering organization.

  • She has been a journalist at a major press-agency for ten years. (She works for a company that supplies news to other media.)

• "press-agency report": a news article or dispatch provided by such an organization.

  • The press-agency report was quoted in several evening papers. (The news item was used by multiple outlets.)

Variants and Related Words

• Press agency (n, alternative spelling): the same concept, often written as two separate words.

  • The press agency has offices in over fifty countries. (The news organization operates globally.)

• News agency (n): a synonym for press-agency, emphasizing the news aspect.

  • Reuters is a well-known news agency. (Reuters is a famous press-agency.)

Synonyms

• News service: an organization that provides news to subscribers.
• Wire service: a historical term for a press-agency that transmitted news via telegraph or teleprinter.

Related Idioms

• "On the wire": referring to news received from a press-agency via wire service.
  • The story came in on the wire just before the deadline. (The news was transmitted by the press-agency.)