The Dallas Morning News is one of the oldest newspapers in the city that has covered the main news and achievements of Dallas every day for several centuries. It was launched in 1885 and has not stopped its activities for a single day. The publication is characterized by high-quality journalistic work, attention to regional events and close relationships with the community. The company is a nine-time Pulitzer Prize winner for reporting and photography. More than 12 million people read it each month in print or digital. Learn more about the newspaper’s creation and history on dallas1.one.
About the founder
The founder of the project was Alfred Horatio Belo. He was born in Salem, North Carolina. His parents made great efforts to ensure that Alfred grew up educated. He received his secondary education at the Bingham School. Then, he entered the University of North Carolina.
During the Civil War, Alfred was a captain in the 55th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Subsequently, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and participated in the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, where he was seriously wounded.
After the war ended, Alfred Belo went to Houston to find work. In the new city, the man met Willard Richardson, the owner of the Galveston Daily News. He invited Alfred to become part of the team in 1865. After 10 years, Belo became its owner.
Launch of the Morning News in Dallas
In 1879, Alfred decided to create a subsidiary project in North Texas. At the time, the Dallas Herald was also published there. Belo decided to buy it but did not reach an agreement with the owner. Then, he sent George Dealey to the city to launch The Morning News. The first issue was published in 1885, with a circulation of 5,000 copies. Despite the fact it was new, it quickly began to gain popularity. It absorbed the Dallas Herald in less than two months. This happened due to the generous financial support and experienced journalists from Galveston Daily News.
Further development
By 1888, the publication printed editions of 8 to 12 pages daily and 16 pages on Sundays. After Alfred Belo’s death, his family sold most of the shares to George Dealey. By 1895, the print run reached 17,000 copies.
In the 1940s, the newspaper moved to a new building in southwest Dallas. There was a newsroom and printing facilities. It worked here for the next 68 years. In the 1990s, it became the only major local publication after its main competitor, the Dallas Times Herald (not to be confused with the one that was absorbed earlier), went out of business. In 1994, the project reached its peak circulation of 527,000 copies. Since that time, their number began to noticeably decrease because readers switched to electronic publications with the development of the Internet and social networks.
In 2003, the project launched a Spanish-language newspaper Al Día, which posts news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and publishes a print edition every Wednesday.
In 2016, the publication announced plans to move to Commerce Street. It was done by December 2017. The area of the new building was three times smaller but now only the editorial department is located here. Most of the printing is done in Plano, north of Dallas.