Answer: Carrier Pigeons

The Reuters News Agency, still in existence today, was founded in 1851 by Paul Reuter. The agency was created while telegraph networks were still in their infancy; Reuter made a significant profit delivering time-sensitive information, like stock updates, via carrier pigeon faster and more reliably than both telegraph and mail could.

Later, as the telegraph networks of Europe matured, the agency adapted to the new information delivery system and continued to grow. Over a century later, the agency employs thousands of journalists around the globe and continues the practice of leveraging technology for quick news delivery.