Organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television broadcasters, government agencies, and other users. It does not publish news itself but supplies news to subscribers, who, by sharing costs, obtain services they could not otherwise afford. All the mass media depend on agencies for the bulk of the news they carry. Some agencies focus on special subjects or on a local area or nation. Many news agencies are cooperatives, with members providing news from their area to a pool for general use. The largest news agencies are United Press International, Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
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Wire Service was an hour-long program focused on three reporters for the fictional Trans-Globe wire service, which was similar to (and obviously inspired by) real-life news wire services such as the Associated Press and United Press International. The three reporters functioned independently of each other, meaning that the series was essentially three different ones sharing a time slot and title.
This program was aired at 9 PM (Eastern time) Thursdays from September 1956 to February 1957, when it was moved to Mondays at 8:30. It was not renewed for a second season, and the last prime time broadcast under this title was in September 1957. However, when a gap developed in the ABC schedule in February 1959, the episodes starring Dane Clark (only) were then rebroadcast under the title Deadline for Action. The last of these repeat episodes was broadcast on September 13, 1959.
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows