The Associated Press (also called the AP and AP Wire) is an American non-profit news media company. It is based in New York City. The AP is a non-profit cooperative owned by the newspapers, radio and Television stations who share its news stories. Most articles are written by staff members belonging to the Newspaper Guild Union, a part of the AFL-CIO. Many news organizations that are not members pay a fee to use the stories. The AP has more than 250 local news offices in more than 100 countries. 