Africa News Service (ANS) is a non-profit U. S. news agency founded in 1973. It is a leading information source on Africa in the United States and works in partnership with African news agencies and periodicals to make available current and background materials on all aspects of African life, politics, and culture. Through its efforts, coverage of Africa has been more frequent, more substantive, and more accurate, filling a vital gap for policy makers, educators, journalists, diplomats, scientists, religious groups, development analysts, and business and labor leaders. Widely known for its periodical Africa News, the award winning ANS also prepares special articles and series for major newspapers and broadcast programs and provides behind-the-scenes consultation and briefing for news agencies and individual journalists. Keeping pace with innovative computer technologies, ANS shifted in 1993 from printed to electronic publication by establishing Africa News Online . Through this on-line service ANS engages in computerized news gathering and distribution and e-mail communications with reporters in Africa. This on-line service is distributed commercially by international vendors such as Lexis/Nexis and Financial Times Information and is on the World Wide Web at www.africanews.org.
ANS is located in Durham, N. C. and is led by a trio of Duke graduates: Executive Director Bertie Howard ('69), Executive Editor Tamela Hultman ('68), and President and Managing Editor Reed Kramer ('69). In 1996 ANS and Duke University embarked on two collaborative ventures, the Center for Africa and the Media (CAM) as well as the the LeRoy T. Walker Africa News Service Archive. CAM is a joint program with Duke University's African and African American Studies Program that will help develop curricular offerings and conduct scholarly research as well as initiate visits and international exchanges with journalists and media scholars.
From the guide to the Leroy T. Walker Africa News Service Archive, (bulk 1952-1994), 1952-1998 and undated, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)
