AScribe
In The News

ASSOCIATED PRESS SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ASCRIBE

March 2, 1999 New York -- The Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest news organization, has entered into an agreement with AScribe of Oakland, California to include its content in the AP ALERT industry-specific news services that are marketed to corporations and government agencies.

The AScribe service, a real-time, public-relations newswire, began in 1996 as a project at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop better ways to distribute news releases from institutions, organizations and associations in the independent or public sectors.

"AScribe exists to bring more important, breaking news from leading organizations and institutions to the attention of the media and the public," said Ron Wolf, chief executive officer of the company. "As the 'Public Interest Newswire', AScribe tries to provide a wider range of voices, sources and views to the nation's news organizations. AP ALERT will deliver this news in real-time directly to the desktops of those who need to see it."

AScribe will provide AP with a package of news releases from universities, medical centers and laboratories, covering everything from major research findings to admission trends. Specific topics include a vast array of fields, from art and humanities to zoology. In addition, AScribe will include announcements from various public policy groups that issue reports, policy statements and comment on public events in such areas as the environment, consumer issues, health and safety, transportation and energy. This package will be incorporated into AP's more than 20 ALERT wires, each containing news and information specific to a particular industry ranging from agriculture to finance.

"The addition of AScribe's focused coverage of public, academic and non-profit institutions adds another critical dimension to our expanding AP ALERT services," said Chris Pederson, AP's Director of Content Business Development. "AScribe's reach into this area helps ensure that our subscribers receive the most comprehensive coverage of news developments relevant to their business."

The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization with 239 bureaus in 77 countries. More than one billion people a day worldwide see or hear news from AP's newspaper and broadcast members and subscribers. AP Information Services provides comprehensive industry-specific, real-time coverage as culled and sorted from the nearly 10,000 stories provided each day on AP's state, national and international wires.

For more information about APIS and the products they offer call 1-800-AP-CALL-1.