One of the most important developments in newspaper organization during the first part of the twentieth century ______(1)_______, which are known as wire services. Wire-service companies employed reporters, who covered stories all over the world. Their news reports were sent to papers throughout the country by telegraph. The papers paid an annual fee for this service. Wire services continue _______(2)________. Today the major wire services are the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). You will frequently find AP or UPI at the beginning of a news story.
Newspaper chains and mergers began to appear in the early 1900s. A chain consists of two or more newspapers _______(3)______. A merger involves combining two or more papers into one. During the nineteenth century many cities had more than one competitive independent paper. Today in most cities there are only one or two newspapers, and _______(4)______. Often newspapers in several cities belong to one chain. Papers have combined ________(5)_______. Chains and mergers have cut down production costs and brought the advantages of big-business methods to the newspaper industry.
A. to play an important role in newspaper operations
B. was the growth of telegraph services
C. and they usually enjoy great prestige
D. they are usually operated by a single owner
E. in order to survive under the pressure of rising costs
F. owned by a single person or organization
KEY: BAFDE
