Products Newswire service Headquarters United States of America Subsidiaries CNW Group | Website www.prnewswire.com Founded 8 March 1954 Parent organization Cision Inc. | |
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Type Subsidiary of Cision Inc. Industry Publications; communications CEO Robert A. Gray (1 Aug 2015–) Profiles | ||
Pr newswire s media studio
PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases based in New York City. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, at first using teleprinters. The founder, Herbert Muschel, operated the service from his house in Manhattan for approximately 15 years. The business was eventually sold to Western Union and then United Business Media of London.
Contents
What is pr newswire
History
PR Newswire was founded in March 1954. In 1971, it was sold to Western Union, which had provided the telecommunications lines and teleprinters that supported the service. In 1972, PR Newswire began using electronic terminals for copyediting. In 1978, the company adopted the Associated Press' computerized message handling and transmission system.
In 1982, PR Newswire was purchased by current owner UBM plc, known at the time as United Newspapers.
In 2000 the company acquired eWatch, founded in 1995 as an automated service to monitor websites, chat rooms, Usenet groups, web publications, online service forums and investor message boards for mentions of a specific organization, issue, product or service.
In 2001, PR Newswire issued the first Multimedia News Release for Touchstone Pictures promoting the film Pearl Harbor. The Multimedia News Release was the first press release to include b-roll, soundbites, high resolution images, and film trailer.
In December 2008, PR Newswire moved its New York City corporate headquarters from Midtown Manhattan to Lower Manhattan, at 350 Hudson Street.
In mid-2009, PR Newswire acquired The Fuel Team.
The largest competitor to PR Newswire is Business Wire.
On December 15, 2015, PR Newswire was sold to global media intelligence company, Cision, for 841 million dollars (USD). The transaction, which requires approval by the shareholders of UBM plc as well as regulatory approvals, is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2016. As of June 2016 (closing date of the deal) it became a subsidiary of Cision.
As of 2013, the PR newswire database includes 10,700 syndicated websites and has 800,000 journalists and influencers in its network.