• Federal News Service was established in mid-1985, providing same-day verbatim transcripts of briefings at the White House, State Department and Defense Department to the many domestic and international news bureaus in Washington, D. C.

• By late 1985, FNS coverage had expanded to include some Congressional hearings and in early 1986 FNS moved into the historic National Press Building, where it has remained ever since. By 1987, FNS had expanded its service to include most press briefings, speeches, and statements by influential government leaders and some hearings - and then the Iran/Contra hearings occurred.

• FNS's expert transcript coverage of these hearings was printed as an "instant" paperback book and distributed throughout bookstores across the U.S. This created a demand for verbatim transcripts of more and more congressional hearings, and FNS now produces transcripts of most major hearings to its large database of clients within 24 hours - and many are completed the day the hearing occurs!

• FNS's growth continued and soon its coverage also included speeches at the National Press Club, conferences sponsored by groups such as The Brookings Institute, political interviews on television and business news conferences.

• FNS covered campaign speeches, the key speeches at the nominating conventions and the candidate debates in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Presidential elections. The historic Economic Conference conducted by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in 1992 was transcribed verbatim and produced in hardback. As our coverage grew, so did our product line, which now includes the Washington Daybook schedule of events occurring in Washington today, tomorrow and the next week or more; and customized transcribing services.

• The FNS customer base, which was originally comprised of a small number of news media companies, now includes most major U.S. and foreign newspapers and news services, world-wide broadcast media, U.S. government agencies, foreign embassies, U.S. embassies worldwide, corporations, lobbyists, universities and associations.

• FNS set up its first international office in Moscow in 1991 to offer foreign embassies, the news media, and foreign business interests, verbatim transcript services similar to those offered by FNS in the U.S. The office initially started with three employees, and has since grown to employ 30 people. The FNS Translation Department started in Moscow, translating just Russian to English and vice versa. Today, the department offers translation in many languages including Ukrainian, Georgian, Polish, Korean, Slovak, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, and of course French, German and Spanish.

• Most recently, FNS again expanded its product line to add comprehensive broadcast and print media monitoring services. The FNS Broadcast News Monitoring Service can provide clients with a daily report on what stories were broadcast about them on network, local and cable news shows in more than 100 markets, and can often provide the actual videotape news story in a matter of hours. FNS NewsClips Online is our electronic news media monitoring service, scanning more than 5,000 media websites worldwide for stories about our clients and their interests.

• Cheryl A. Reagan, the President of Federal News Service, believes that there are substantial opportunities for more company growth through the development of new products and services and the establishment of new offices internationally. The FNS transcribers are credited and acknowledged by the media and other clients for their expert transcribing abilities and speed. The full time technology professionals manage all technology issues, develop FNS software programs, and provide customer service. The administrative, sales, and production departments consist of many long-time dedicated employees working towards future global expansion to benefit all customers.