- German:
- Wolffsche Telegraphenbüro
- Areas Of Involvement:
- telegraph
- journalism
Wolff Telegraphic Bureau
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What was the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau?
The Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB) was a German news agency founded in 1849 by Bernhard Wolff. Wolff, who had worked for Agence Havas, started a financial news cooperative that used telegraph lines.
WTB broadened its coverage to general news in 1855, gaining newspaper clients and exchanging news with Havas and Reuters by 1859. By 1865, the Prussian government began to support WTB financially, gaining some control over its political news.
WTB's role diminished in the 20th century, particularly during World War I, and it came under complete government control from 1917 to 1919. The Nazi regime replaced WTB with the Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro in 1933, ending its operations.
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Where and when was the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau founded?
The Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB), a German news agency, was founded in 1849 by Bernhard Wolff, a physician. After working as a translator of medical and financial news for Agence Havas in Paris, Wolff returned to Berlin in 1849. There, he worked as a newspaper editor and created his own financial news cooperative, the Berlin Telegraphische Anstalt. WTB served as the primary German news agency and was one of the few international news services for about 75 years. By 1859, WTB was exchanging news with Havas and Reuters.
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What was the main job of the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau?
The Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB), established in 1849 by Bernhard Wolff, functioned as Germany's primary news agency. WTB initially served banks and businesses by utilizing the expanding electric telegraph network. By 1855, it broadened its scope to include general news and serve newspaper clients.
By 1865, the Prussian government started providing financial support and exerting indirect control. In 1869, a secret agreement granted WTB priority use of German telegraph cables. In return, Prussia gained some control over the transmitted political news, making the news agency an instrument of Prussian official policy and giving it primacy in issuing official news.
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How did the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau send and receive news?
The Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB), established in 1849 by Bernhard Wolff, used the expanding network of electric telegraph lines to send and receive news. Initially, WTB served banks and businesses with financial news, but it broadened its scope to include general news in 1855, gaining newspaper clients.
WTB exchanged news with Havas and Reuters by 1859. In 1870, the three agencies formed a news cartel where each agency covered a specific part of the world. WTB handled Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Scandinavia. They utilized undersea cables and land telegraphy, and were often called "wire" services. In 1869, WTB gained priority access to German telegraph cables in exchange for Prussian governmental control over political news.
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Why was the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau important in German and world news?
The Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB), established in 1849 by Bernhard Wolff, was a leading German news agency and one of the primary international news services for about 75 years. By 1859, WTB was exchanging news with Havas and Reuters.
WTB, Havas, and Reuters formed a news cartel called "The Ring" by 1870. Each agency covered a specific region, with WTB responsible for Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Scandinavia. WTB gained priority access to German telegraph cables in exchange for some government control over political news and staffing.
WTB's role diminished in the early 20th century, particularly during World War I when it was cut off from news sources. The Nazi regime replaced WTB with the government-controlled Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro in 1933.
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What happened to the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau after World War I?
After World War I, the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB) faced significant challenges. Cut off from usual news sources due to severed German undersea cables, its national role weakened further when the German government established a separate wireless news bureau, Transocean, in 1915. From 1917 to 1919, WTB was under full government control. The loss of the war, Germany’s occupation, and economic turmoil during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s further weakened WTB. Growing competition from Reuters and Havas, which then served many of its non-German territories, also contributed to its decline. Although WTB experienced a brief rally in the early 1930s, the new Nazi regime effectively closed it in 1933, replacing it with the government-controlled Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro.
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Wolff Telegraphic Bureau (WTB), German news agency founded in 1849 by physician Bernhard Wolff. Formed shortly after the Havas and Reuters news agencies, WTB served as the primary German news agency and was one of only a handful of international news services for about 75 years.
Origins
Wolff became interested in news agencies after serving as a translator of medical and financial news for Agence Havas in Paris in 1847 and 1848. He returned in 1849 to Berlin, where he worked as an editor of a newspaper and formed his own financial news cooperative, the Berlin Telegraphische Anstalt. That cooperative made early use of the spreading network of electric telegraph lines, though most of Wolff’s initial clients were banks and other businesses, not newspapers. Taking over several smaller competitors, Wolff broadened his operation to cover general news in 1855 and took on newspaper clients. By 1859 Wolff was exchanging news with Havas and Reuters. The operation underwent several name changes, finally becoming the Wolffsche Telegraphenbüro (WTB).
The Prussian government began contributing some financial support (and exerting indirect control) by 1865. A secret 1869 agreement between the government and WTB gave the latter priority use of the expanding network of German telegraph cables, in return for which Prussia gained some degree of control over the political news transmitted and even the hiring of staff. With that the news agency became effectively an instrument of Prussian official policy, though it also achieved primacy in issuing official news. Wolff retired as managing director in 1871.
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News cartel
In 1856 WTB signed an exchange agreement with Havas in France and Reuters in Britain to share financial news from their respective countries. Their cooperation soon expanded to more general news, and in 1874 they agreed to create joint offices in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
By 1870 the three agencies had established a cooperative news cartel, soon dubbed “The Ring.” With each agency being responsible for a specific part of the world (WTB covered Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Scandinavia), the cartel thus eliminated overlapping reporting and its related costs. For many years, WTB controlled the national news bureaus in Sweden and Norway. Being the smallest of the three, WTB was subject to its partners’ agreement to any expansion of its services—for which it paid a premium. All three made effective use of the growing web of undersea cables and land telegraphy and were accordingly often called “wire” services. With some changes, the cartel agreement was renewed in 1890 and again in 1914.
Decline
Increasingly, by the turn of the 20th century, WTB was seen as an agency of the Prussian, and later German, government. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the agency was cut off from its usual news sources and many of its clients when all German undersea cables were cut by the Allies. Further weakening its once strong national role, the German government set up a separate wireless news bureau, Transocean, in 1915. WTB came under full government control from 1917 to 1919. The loss of the war, Germany’s subsequent occupation, and economic turmoil greatly weakened WTB during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s. Growing competition also contributed to its decline, as Reuters and Havas then served many of its non-German territories.
WTB experienced a brief rally in the early 1930s as wireless technology allowed for more efficient news delivery. By 1932, larger newspaper subscribers used teleprinters served by a multiple-address radio system. WTB fielded the largest number of reporters outside of Germany and distributed many specialized news services (including those for finance, sports, and editorials) within the country.
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However, WTB was effectively closed in 1933 by the new Nazi regime and replaced by the government-controlled Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro. With its increasingly overt propaganda content, the new agency helped finalize the demise of The Ring cartel with Havas and Reuters.