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SWNS Media Group

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SWNS Media Group
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryNews agency
FoundedEarly 1970s
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Andrew Young, Paul Walters, Martin Winter
Number of employees
100 (2015)
Subsidiaries72point
Inside Media
OATH
OnePoll
Talk to the Press
Websiteswnsmediagroup.com

SWNS Media Group (also known as South West News Service) is a British news agency and media company with six subdivisions, including SWNS, 72point, InsideMedia, OATH, OnePoll and Talk to the Press.[1]

The company operates from offices in Bristol, Plymouth, Leeds, Solihull, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Cambridge and London.[2] As of 2015, SWNS employed around 100 reporters and photographers.[3]

History

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It was founded as the Bristol Agency in the early 1970s. It is now run by partners Andrew Young, Paul Walters and Martin Winter.

In 2010 SWNS launched the website SWNS.com (Small World News Service) as a first hand source of current affairs and general interest news.[4]

In 2016 SWNS acquired the regional agencies Masons News Service, Newsteam International, Ross Parry, National News, Centre Press and Northscot.[5][6]

Organisation

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SWNS has two public relations divisions: 72Point and Inside Media,[7][8] market research company OnePoll, also OATH and Talk to The Press.

SWNS has a relationship with the alternative news website venture The London Economic, though it is understood not to leverage any editorial control.[9]

Criticism

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In 2023, SWNS Media Group's 72Point faced criticism over the transparency and ethics of its content generation practices following the discovery of articles attributed to 72Point's staff members on news websites.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Britain's biggest independent news agency expands". Press Gazette. London: Progressive Media International. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  2. ^ "NAPA Members' Directory – South West News Service". napa.org.uk. NAPA: National Association of Press Agencies. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  3. ^ "SWNS news agency takes editorial headcount to nearly 100 with takeover of National News". Press Gazette. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ^ "About SWNS". swns.com. Bristol: Small World News Service. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "SWNS acquires Leeds-based news agency Ross Parry". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  6. ^ Roy Greenslade (5 November 2015). "SWNS moves into London by acquiring yet another news agency". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  7. ^ "West Country News, Stories & Events Online – Western Daily Press". Western Daily Press. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Primal PR and 72 Point expand operations with launch of London offices". Brand Republic. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  9. ^ Walker, James (12 June 2017). "Alternative news website The London Economic sees traffic boom with pro-Corbyn coverage'". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  10. ^ Holt, Siobhan. "72Point defends business amid criticism". PR Week.
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