Charles-Louis Havas (5 July 1783 – 21 May 1858) was a French writer, translator, and founder of the first news agency Agence Havas (whose descendants are the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

(AFP) and the advertising firm Havas).

Biography

Havas was born to a Jewish familyThe Baron: "A tale of two cities" by John Entwisle
retrieved December 13, 2017 in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. In 1835, he founded the Agence Havas, aware of their growing interest in international affairs, translated foreign newspapers and then sold them to the French national press, local businessman, and the government. Recognizing that newspapers were not always accurate and often biased, he explored the concept of having his own correspondents in the field who would supply his agency with information. He died at Bougival. Two of his employees, Paul Reuter and Bernhard Wolff, later set up rival news agencies in London (the

Reuters News Agency Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

founded in 1851) and Berlin (the Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau founded in 1849) respectively. In order to reduce overhead and develop the lucrative advertising side of the business, Havas's sons, who had succeeded him in 1852, signed agreements with Reuter and Wolff, giving each news agency an exclusive reporting zone in different parts of Europe. This arrangement lasted until the 1930s, when the invention of short-wave wireless improved and cut communications costs. To help Havas extend the scope of its reporting at a time of great international tension, the French government financed up to 47% of its investments.

Biography

References

See also