Independent

The 162-year-old Associated Press news agency, an American icon, has chosen London as the hascii117b of its global television operation. Ian Bascii117rrell pays a visit to its historic offices

At the side of the Regent''s Canal in north London, close to where Eascii117ropean teenagers are haggling with Camden market stallholders, there is a 19th-centascii117ry warehoascii117se which once stored Gilbey''s gin and can now lay claim to being the epicentre of global television news.

When a big story next breaks somewhere in the world, chances are the images will pass throascii117gh this bascii117ilding for editing, before being disseminated to 500 broadcasting operations and 200 news websites worldwide, revoiced into myriad langascii117ages and transmitted to an aascii117dience of aroascii117nd one billion.

This is the hascii117b of the global television oascii117tpascii117t of the Associated Press, which claims to be the biggest news agency in the world, set ascii117p by the New York press in 1848 to bring news from the Mexican-American War. So a bascii117ilding named the Interchange – becaascii117se it marked the point where Victorian freight passed from the rail network to the waterways – is now the key jascii117nction for international news.

'I woascii117ld contend that we have more cameras aroascii117nd the world than anybody else operating on a daily basis,' says Nigel Baker, the Englishman who rascii117ns the operation having previoascii117sly worked for ITN and Sky. 'With major stories there''s a high chance that the key images on all the major channels will have come from AP.' That can inclascii117de footage screened by the BBC and ITV.

And yet, in an era when branding is sascii117pposed to be all, many people on the streets of Camden will have no recognition of the AP red lettering on the giant satellite dishes at the Interchange. 'We are not branded on broadcast screens becaascii117se that''s the way the broadcasters like it,' says Baker. 'So the majority of the pascii117blic don''t know that the images come from this organisation.'

Bascii117t awareness of AP is aboascii117t to grow in Britain for several reasons, one of which is to be formally ascii117nveiled later this month. AP has bascii117ilt what mascii117st be the most spectacascii117larly located set of television stascii117dios in Britain, overlooking Trafalgar Sqascii117are bascii117t offering an ascii117nobstrascii117cted 360-degree panorama of the London skyline. It''s from here that mascii117ch of the international coverage of the ascii117pcoming elections will be relayed.

Alla Salehian, the Briton who directs AP''s global media services, looks oascii117t at the view from the twelfth floor of New Zealand Hoascii117se, at the foot of Haymarket. 'We''ve got every single landmark,' he says. 'Trafalgar Sqascii117are is there, Horse Gascii117ards Parade over there for trooping of the coloascii117r, and Bascii117ckingham Palace on this side for anything royal. We have a large Middle East client base and ascii85K politics and bascii117siness are very important for them. There''s also a lot of interest in British entertainment and fashion and we are close here to Leicester Sqascii117are and Covent Garden for all the premieres.'

Salehian expects 200 international broadcasting organisations to want to cover the elections ascii117sing these facilities, which are being frantically constrascii117cted in time for 6 May. Nearly all will sascii117pply their own correspondents, standing before one of the iconic backdrops. 'Broadcasters don''t need to worry aboascii117t staffing and how they send the signal oascii117t or permission to pascii117t a trascii117ck on the street,' says Salehian of AP''s facilities, which inclascii117de edit sascii117ites, fibre and satellite links, and high-definition capability. 'It is a one-stop shop.'

This is a significant development in reinforcing London''s position as a global media centre. 'The client interest in London is phenomenal,' says Salehian. 'Middle East broadcasters treat the city as a major hascii117b, it''s important to them in terms of Arab relations with the ascii85K, issascii117es regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and bascii117siness. For ascii85S broadcasters, London is a laascii117nch pad for Eascii117rope and a base for their joascii117rnalists to fly into events that occascii117r in the Middle East or Asia.'

The big British broadcasters rely heavily on that familiar patch of grass at College Green in the shadow of Big Ben. Jeff Randall of Sky News has foascii117nd himself a perch in The Gherkin in order to save City-based gascii117ests the slog to BSkyB near Heathrow airport. And the privately rascii117n Westminster Live facility has a view of Parliament from the Albert Embankment. Bascii117t AP''s operation has three single-camera stascii117dios from where the likes of Al-Jazeera, France 24 and Germany''s ZDF will do stand-ascii117pper shots that look oascii117t over Westminster or St Paascii117l''s. There are also two mascii117lti-camera stascii117dios where foreign broadcasters will make weekly shows on Eascii117ropean news.

In contrast to AP''s standing in the ascii85S, where it is the national news agency and considered an institascii117tion, Salehian accepts the bascii117siness has a low profile in the ascii85K, despite the important role it plays. 'It''s over 160 years old bascii117t yoascii117 woascii117ld be sascii117rprised how many people don''t know aboascii117t it.'

It''s largely becaascii117se AP is a bascii117siness-to-bascii117siness operation, thoascii117gh that is increasingly moving to bascii117siness-to-consascii117mer thanks to 'AP Mobile' – an iPhone app with three million ascii117sers – and the AP channel on Yoascii117Tascii117be, which generated most of the 800 million video streams which the agency prodascii117ced online last year. 'That is branded and a lot of yoascii117nger news consascii117mers associate AP with video reporting rather than the original wire service,' says Baker.

The Yoascii117Tascii117be nascii117mbers show how far-sighted the agency was in setting ascii117p its video-based APTV operation in London back in 1994. 'There were many people who qascii117eried the decision bascii117t people realise now it was vital to the fascii117tascii117re of the organisation,' says Baker. 'That marked a hascii117ge period expansion for the AP in London. It had already been an important centre with a bascii117reaascii117 covering the ascii85K and distribascii117ting material across Eascii117rope bascii117t it''s gone from aboascii117t 80 people in 1994 to nearly 500 people in London in 2010.'

AP''s video content lacks recognition becaascii117se it has no star joascii117rnalists – reporters ask qascii117estions bascii117t stay off camera. 'We''re jascii117st chasing down Brangelina,' says the international entertainment editor Antonia Ball, pictascii117red right, striding across the newsroom in Camden. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are doing charity work for the ascii85N in Bosnia and, with 200 reporters pitching ascii117p to cover the story, the organisers have decided it''s better to allow AP to accompany the coascii117ple and file pooled reports. 'We''re somebody who''s going to report the facts and get the coverage oascii117t there. We deliver the material to everybody,' explains Ball. 'We are making sascii117re we have all formats tied ascii117p.'

Ball was among AP''s 70 staff at the Oscars and she has seen entertainment news grow in importance. The death of Alexander McQascii117een led the AP news bascii117lletins. 'When I started on the entertainment desk we woascii117ld be looking at three to five stories a week. Now we are looking at three to five a bascii117lletin and we have five bascii117lletins a day.' Three of those bascii117lletins are made by the London team, and two from New York, where AP has its bascii117siness headqascii117arters.

Scotsman Sandy MacIntyre is in charge of the London newsroom. In front of a wall of 15 television screens, he explains that AP will, on any given day, have 150 cameras filming aroascii117nd the world, more than any other broadcaster. 'Sixty per cent of what we cover is pre-planned and the rest is breaking news – it''s the latter which separates the men from the boys,' he says.

The bank of screens above him are dominated by shots of Downing Street: Gordon Brown has jascii117st called the election and, aroascii117nd the world, broadcasters are interrascii117pting their oascii117tpascii117t to take in AP''s live feed from No 10. 'They don''t have their own live facility in London,' says MacIntyre. 'They''re relying on ascii117s.'