Caters News Agency

Caters News holds the distinction of being the oldest independent press agency in the UK, established in 1927 by Herbert S Cater. Herbert’s background was rooted in a family that operated a construction business in Barnstaple, located in the West Country. After serving in the tank corps during World War I, he traveled around the country before eventually settling in Birmingham, where he worked as a sub-editor for the Evening Gazette. He later transitioned to the Gazette’s sister publication, the Evening Despatch, but soon decided to forge his own path by founding a freelance agency in 1927, giving rise to Caters. Launching his agency during the economic difficulties of the 1920s, a time when journalists typically reported news rather than creating it, was a bold move. Little did he know that the small freelance venture he started would evolve into the international news, picture, and video agency it is today. In its early days, Caters focused on covering court cases and business meetings, eventually expanding to write and publish monthly magazines for major industries in Birmingham, all produced using typewriters! Before long, Caters established a photographic department to cater to both industrial clients and newspapers, complete with a reporters' room and an extensive library of press clippings. Herbert led a dynamic team of young reporters covering courts, council meetings, and football, bringing “an intense energy and a remarkable instinct for news” to the team. One of the reporters who experienced this firsthand was Peter Deeley, who joined Caters in 1951 and later authored a book titled ‘Copy Boy!’ about his time there. Peter recalled, “When I started at Caters as a copy/office boy in 1951, Mr. Cater was semi-retired and had also begun running local weekly newspapers. He was quite intimidating, reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock with his penetrating gaze.” “In those days, Caters was often compensated one old penny per line, and we would rush pictures to Fleet Street via train. There was also a cumbersome wiring system that involved a phone and a cylindrical drum, which could take ages to transmit and often failed.” “Back then, you learned by doing, working around 50 hours a week—running copy, carrying typewriters, mopping floors, managing an old telephone switchboard, making tea, and fetching cream cakes for the typists.” Today, the Caters group consists of 45 staff members based in our Birmingham headquarters, our New York bureau in Broadway, and our