Figures & history

For more than seven decades, dpa has been reporting on Germany and the world. In the process, the agency has always adapted to technical and social transformation or even actively shaped change: As, for example, with digitalization, reunification, and the relocation to Berlin.

Facts & figures

These figures refer to the year 2022 and are included in the dpa Annual Report . The same applies to the information on employees, which represents an annual average.

1949

Foundation

172

Shareholders

103m

Annual turnover in euros

1.2m

Annual surplus after tax in euros

81

Offices worldwide

7

Languages

55

Offices in Germany

12

German regional services

130m

Pictures in the picture alliance portal

697

Employees dpa GmbH

1,322

Employees dpa Group

10

Subsidiaries and other shareholdings


The history of dpa: Images and milestones

1949—

1960—

1970—

1980—

1990—

2000—

2010—

2020

Mann sitzt an historischem Fernschreiber
Frauen und Männer in Redaktion der der Sechziger Jahre
Menschen im Großraum dpa
Frau am Computer in Achtziger Jahre
Ausrichtung einer Satellitenantenne in den Neunziger Jahren
Redakteurinnen und Redakteure bei der Arbeit 2005.
Redaktionskonferenz im Berliner Newsroom der dpa
Gruppe von Menschen arbeitet im Großraum

1949 - 1959: The first years of dpa

1960 - 1969: Internationalization of dpa

1970 - 1979: The electronic age begins

1980 - 1989: On the path to a reunified Germany

1990 - 1999: Entry into the online age

2000 - 2009: New subsidiaries

2010 - 2019: Central editorial office moves to Berlin

Since 2020: New teams, new working environments

1949 – The German Press Agency (dpa) sends the first news item of the basic service on September 1.

1950 – Capital increase to DM 1.2 million. 752 employees. Turnover DM 11 million.

1956 – An extraordinary shareholders' meeting decides to expand the foreign services.

1957 – The dpa-Europadienst begins transmitting on longwave, the dpa-Überseedienst in English on five shortwave frequencies.

1958 – Instead of sending photos by post, dpa-Bildfunk begins sending them via longwave.

1964 – Serious error: dpa mistakenly reports the death of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

1966 – dpa's foreign network includes correspondents in 75 countries.

1967 – dpa-Basisdienst and dpa-Bildfunk transmit around the clock. Launch of the Arabic dpa service. Spanish service doubles transmission time from six to 12 hours. Expansion of the English service.

1973 – The first generation of an Electronic Computerized News Exchange (ERNA) goes into operation. For the first time, dpa editors edit on screens.

1979 – Introduction of a standardized format for reports. dpa customers can receive and edit reports directly on a computer.

1980 – dpa-Europadienst transmits around the clock.

1981 – dpa establishes its own business editorial department.

1983 – The photo desk introduces electronic image processing.

1984 – Launch of dpa-Select – customers can be supplied in a targeted way, based on an interest profile. Development of the dpa-Nachrichtendatenbank begins.

1985 – Launch of "EPA European Pressphoto Agency B.V.," The Hague/Frankfurt, with dpa participation.

1986 – Launch of dpa-Audiodienst and Hörfunk-Nachrichtendienst (audio and radio news services). Foundation of "gms Global Media Services GmbH" as a dpa subsidiary.

1988 – Acquisition of Globus Kartendienst GmbH. Expansion of the product range to include graphics. End of supply of international news via partners. As a result, dpa's worldwide reporting is carried out exclusively by its own network of correspondents.

1989 – Start of unhindered reporting from East Germany. dpa and "ADN Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst," Berlin agree to cooperate on sales and technology.

1989 – dpa and five other news agencies found "mecom Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH" for the satellite transport of their news services.

1990 – In February, the "Thüringer Allgemeine," Erfurt, becomes the first newspaper in East Germany to be supplied directly by dpa with the dpa-Basisdienst. By the end of the year, 41 newspapers as well as radio and television groups in eastern Germany are dpa customers. Founding of the wholly-owned subsidiary "dpa-Agenturdienste GmbH," Berlin, for activities in eastern Germany. Establishment of five eastern German dpa regional services with 14 regional offices and a newsroom in Berlin-Mitte.

1991 – 75 percent stake in "Fotoagentur Zentralbild GmbH," Berlin.

1994 – The dpa subsidiary "gms Global Media Services GmbH" buys "news aktuell GmbH." An additional editorial office is established in Washington for the English world news service.

1995 – dpa-Bilderdienst switches completely to database-supported digital production. gms launches the "gms-Themendienst."

1996 – The Hamburg editorial office of the Spanish world news service is relocated to Madrid. It produces the Spanish service together with the existing editorial office in Buenos Aires.

1997 – Test operation of dpa-Online begins. A separate editorial office in Nicosia/Cyprus produces the Arabic dpa world news service. An Asian editorial office for the English world news service is set up in Bangkok. Purchase of the "RUFA Rundfunk-Nachrichtenagentur GmbH." Introduction of dpa-MedienServer (MES), a system for receiving dpa-Bildfunk, dpa-Online, dpa-Grafik, and dpa-Audiodienst. Introduction of "fast broadcasting," which transmits all motifs in colour.

1999 – The editorial offices of the dpa-Basisdienst and the dpa-Europadienst in Hamburg are reorganized, a new department "Vermischtes/Modernes Leben" (Miscellaneous/Modern Life) is introduced.

1999 – Foundation of "dpa-AFX Wirtschaftsnachrichten GmbH" (dpa holds 50 percent of shares).

2000 – Foundation of the subsidiary dpa-infocom. dpa-Bilddatenbank also available on the Internet. Opening of the dpa capital bureau in Berlin.

2002 – Restructuring of the international service in English: The central editorial office is based in Cork (Ireland). Foundation of "dpa Picture-Alliance GmbH" for the distribution of dpa photos and those from other partner agencies.

2003 – In Germany, dpa reorganizes editorial processes in the bureaux in the different federal states – one of the most comprehensive reforms in the agency's history.

2004 – A new pricing model proves to be an important means of retaining customers in the face of the media crisis.

2007 – Launch of the first cross-media and target-group-specific service: "dpa-Nachrichten für Kinder" (dpa News for Kids), which includes texts, images, podcasts and animated graphics.

2010 – dpa opens its new central editorial office in Berlin. For the first time, all central editorial offices work under one roof. Wolfgang Büchner becomes editor-in-chief of dpa, succeeding Wilm Herlyn, who headed the newsroom for a total of 19 years.

2012 – EANA (European Alliance of News Agencies) honours the dpa-News portal with the "Award for Excellence in News Agency Quality." dpa and the US news agency Associated Press (AP) sign a long-term cooperation agreement.

2013 – The new agency service AP Weltnachrichten goes live. dpa launches the dpa-Agenda scheduling and planning service.

2014 – Sven Gösmann becomes dpa's new editor-in-chief.

2015 – dpa initiates the next media accelerator. The company supports start-ups from the media sector with seed funding and expertise.

2016 – dpa-Custom Content, an offering for tailored content, begins operations.

2017 – Peter Kropsch, previously managing director of Austria Presse Agentur (APA), becomes the new dpa CEO. Launch of dpa's new international photo network.

2019 – dpa establishes a new four-person editorial board: Editor-in-chief is Sven Gösmann. Deputy editors-in-chief are Antje Homburger (news), Jutta Steinhoff (network), and Niddal Salah-Eldin (innovation and product).

2019 – The German Press Agency celebrates its 70th anniversary. In his speech to mark the occasion, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasizes the importance of dpa for the success of democracy in Germany.

 

2020 – dpa acquires the video news agency TeleNewsNetwork (TNN) and expands its video content offering. As part of the long-term #UseTheNews project, the agency is committed to promoting news literacy among young people.

2021 – Silke Brüggemeier becomes deputy editor-in-chief. As the head of the Bild division, she is responsible for the photo and video sections.

2022 – The European Newsroom (enr), a joint project of 18 European news agencies, is launched in Brussels. dpa is the lead agency. Publishing customers are offered dpa-Themenwelten to attract additional digital subscriptions. The move of the central editorial office to a new newsroom - also in Berlin - is being prepared.

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