The chapter by Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wagner in the Routledge Handbook of News Agencies summarizes all the key information about the German Press Agency (dpa).
The chapter outlines the founding principles established in the postwar period, which continue to guide the dpa’s work. It describes the corporate and ownership structure, as well as the management of dpa GmbH and the dpa Group. The chapter then examines the dpa’s business model and provides an overview of its range of services: To ensure its economic success, the dpa has built up a broad portfolio and has since evolved into a service provider with a multimodal and multimedia “product universe.”
“Committed to the Facts” Throughout the Ages
The high quality standards to which dpa journalists adhere remain of central importance to their professional identity. To this day, dpa’s motto is “Committed to the Facts.” In addition to this guiding principle, the values of independence, impartiality, and reliability are also at the core of the brand. To date, dpa has not received a single reprimand from the German Press Council; the agency has dealt constructively with inevitable errors.
Finally, the article discusses key challenges currently facing dpa: addressing targeted disinformation through a fact-checking team, reaching “Generation Z,” and dealing with artificial intelligence.
Direct link to the handbook on the publisher’s website; Hans-Ulrich Wagner’s contribution begins on page 182.
Wagner, Hans-Ulrich (2026): „Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa): Germany’s Market Leader Builds upon Reliability and Adaptation“. In: Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Pedro Aguiar, Christian A. Vukasovich (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of News Agencies, pp. 182-193. London/New York: Routledge.