PR Newswire

PR Newswire is a news agency based in New York City.

History

PR Newswire was founded in 1954. In 1971, it was sold to Western Union, which had provided the telecommunications lines and teleprinters that supported the service. In 1972, PR Newswire began using electronic terminals for copyediting. In 1978, the company adopted the Associated Press' computerized message handling and transmission system.

In 1982, PR Newswire was purchased by current owner UBM plc, known at the time as United Newspapers.

In 2000 the company acquired eWatch, founded in 1995 as an automated service to monitor websites, chat rooms, Usenet groups, web publications, online service forums and investor message boards for mentions of a specific organization, issue, product or service.

In 2001, PR Newswire issued the first Multimedia News Release for Touchstone Pictures promoting the film, "Pearl Harbor." The Multimedia News Release was the first press release to include b-roll, soundbites, high resolution images, and film trailer.