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The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

Associated Press (via Philadelphia Inquirer)

U.S. lean left

Owned byNot-for-profit news cooperative owned collectively by more than 300 U.S. member newspapers and broadcasters; no single corporate parent or individual owner
FundingMember licensing fees paid by subscribing news organizations worldwide; supplemental philanthropic funding through the AP Fund for Journalism, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Associated Press traces its roots to 1848, when six New York newspapers — including the New York Tribune and the New York Herald — pooled resources to share telegraph-transmitted news, forming the Associated Press of New York. The cooperative model expanded nationally over the following decades, eventually becoming one of the world's largest and most widely distributed news services. In 1935 the AP launched Wirephoto, allowing same-day transmission of news photographs over leased telephone lines, cementing its role as a technological leader in journalism. For most of its history the AP was regarded as a benchmark for neutral, fact-based wire reporting, and its AP Stylebook became the standard reference for American newswriting. In recent years, independent media-bias trackers — including AllSides — have shifted its rating from 'Center' toward 'Lean Left,' citing word-choice patterns and framing in political coverage; as of mid-2026 AllSides rates it 'Lean Left' with medium confidence. Tensions with the Trump administration came to a head in February 2025, when the White House barred AP journalists from the Oval Office and Air Force One after the AP declined to adopt the executive-order name 'Gulf of America' in place of 'Gulf of Mexico'; a federal judge — himself a Trump appointee — ordered access restored in April 2025 on First Amendment grounds. The White House has since listed the AP on an official 'media bias' page cataloguing outlets it considers unfair.

Sources

  1. Associated Press – Wikipedia
  2. Associated Press Media Bias | AllSides
  3. Updated Media Bias Ratings: Associated Press and AP Fact Check | AllSides
  4. Judge orders White House to give AP access to Oval Office | NPR
  5. Judge allows White House ban on Associated Press to continue — for now | Washington Post
  6. Trump administration's 'media bias' list raises alarm, CPJ says | Committee to Protect Journalists
  7. AP Fund for Journalism | InfluenceWatch
  8. There are no winners in the AP-White House feud | The Hill

Profile compiled 2026-07-07; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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