United States Student Press Association Collegiate Press Service began in 1962 as the news agency of the
United States Student Press Association (USSPA), which at the time was receiving support and covert financing from
right-wing organizations like ''
Reader's Digest'' and the
CIA. CPS was originally based in
Washington, D.C. As the decade moved along, CPS drifted more
leftward, but in the summer of 1967, two
radical staff members of CPS —
Ray Mungo and
Marshall Bloom — were purged from the USSPA; they immediately established the
alternative news agency Liberation News Service (LNS).
Worker cooperative; move to Denver When USSPA suffered financial setbacks in 1971 (eventually going defunct), CPS was spun off and became a progressive news collective in
Denver, Colorado. In April 1978, CPS dissolved, selling its name (and client list) to two enduring advocates, cartoonist
Ed Stein and writer Bill Sonn, and distributing funds from the sale to progressive groups in Denver.
Interrobang Stein and Sonn converted the operation to a commercial enterprise, adding
High School News & Graphics to its college and university press service. Stein remained as co-publisher of CPS for only a short time, as he was appointed as the staff editorial cartoonist of the
Rocky Mountain News later in 1978. Sonn renamed the whole operation
Interrobang, Inc., with himself as president and CEO. In 1990, Interrobang (and CPS) was acquired by
Tribune Media Services (TMS), with Sonn staying on as CEO.
Tribune Media Services; College Press Exchange In May 1991, TMS renamed CPS to
College Press Exchange, Interrobang was dissolved, and Sonn left the organization. At that point, it was supplying news and graphics to 600 college newspapers and 400 high schools with a staff of three and dozens of freelance writers and cartoonists. In 1999, CPE was absorbed into the syndicate's existing service "
tms Campus." == References ==