AP

Associated Press (AP)

Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Its beginnings trace to 1848, when six New York City newspapers pooled their efforts to finance a telegraphic relay of foreign news brought by ships to Boston. In 1892 the modern AP was set up under the laws of Illinois; several years later it moved to New York. Its restrictive controls on new memberships were ended with federal antitrust prosecution in the 1940s. AP was the first agency to devote a news wire to sports coverage (1946), and it distributes business news through a partnership with Dow Jones & Co., Inc. More than 15,000 organizations worldwide obtain news, photographs, and illustrations from the agency. The AP Stylebook has become a standard in many journalistic organizations.

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AP

See access point and accounts payable software.

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AP

(naval architecture)

after-perpendicular

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access panel

A removable panel (usually secured with screws) in a frame which is usually mounted in a ceiling or wall; provides access to a concealed item that does not require frequent attention.