''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
serving the
Dallas–Fort Worth area of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by
Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''
Galveston Daily News'', of
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
.
Historically, and to the present day, it is the most prominent newspaper in Dallas.
Throughout the 1990s and as recently as 2010, the paper has won nine
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
s for reporting and
photography
Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
,
George Polk Awards
The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...
for education reporting and regional reporting, and an
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...
award for photography. Its headquarters is in
downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
.
History

''The Dallas Morning News'' was founded in 1885 as a spin-off of the ''
Galveston Daily News'' by
Alfred Horatio Belo. In 1926, the Belo family sold a majority interest in the paper to its longtime publisher,
George Dealey. By the 1920s, ''The Dallas Morning News'' had grown larger than the ''Galveston Daily News'' and had become a progressive force in Dallas and Texas.
Adolph Ochs
Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of ''The New York Times'' and ''The Chattanooga Times'', which is now the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press''. Through his only child, Iphigene ...
, who saved ''The New York Times'' from bankruptcy in 1896 and made the newspaper into one of the country's most respected, said in 1924 that he had been strongly influenced by ''The Dallas Morning News''.
During the 1920s, when the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
was a powerful force in Dallas, ''The Dallas Morning News'' pushed back against the KKK with its news coverage and editorials.
In turn, the KKK, which had a membership that included one in three eligible Dallas men, threatened to boycott the newspaper.
In 1904, ''The Dallas Morning News'' began publishing the ''
Texas Almanac'', which had previously been published intermittently during the 1800s by the ''Galveston Daily News''. After over a century of publishing by the ''Morning News'', the ''Almanac''
's assets were given to the
Texas State Historical Association
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
in May 2008.
By the late 1940s, the ''Morning News'' had built and opened a new office, newsroom, and printing plant at Houston and Young Streets on the southwest side of
downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
. A notable part of the facade above the front doors includes a quote etched in the stony exterior:
::::::
BUILD THE NEWS UPON
THE ROCK OF TRUTH
AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
CONDUCT IT ALWAYS
UPON THE LINES OF
FAIRNESS AND INTEGRITY
ACKNOWLEDGE THE RIGHT
OF THE PEOPLE TO GET
FROM THE NEWSPAPER
BOTH SIDES OF EVERY
IMPORTANT QUESTION
G. B. DEALEY
The complex at 508 Young Street would house all or part of the ''Morning News'' operations for the next six decades.
In late 1991, ''The Dallas Morning News'' became the lone major newspaper in the Dallas market when the ''
Dallas Times Herald'' was closed after several years of circulation wars between the two papers, especially over the then-burgeoning classified advertising market. In July 1986, the ''Times Herald'' was purchased by
William Dean Singleton, owner of
MediaNews Group
MNG Enterprises, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado, United States–based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. As of May 2021, it owns over 100 newspapers and 200 ass ...
. After 18 months of efforts to turn the paper around, Singleton sold it to an associate. On December 8, 1991,
Belo Corporation
Belo Corporation (; formerly A. H. Belo Corporation) was a Dallas, Texas-based media company that owned 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and three regional 24-hour news cycle, 24-hour United States cable news, cable news televisio ...
bought the ''Times Herald'' for $55 million, closing the paper the next day.
It was not the first time the Belo family had bought and closed a paper named ''
The Herald'' in Dallas.

In 2003, ''The Dallas Morning News'' launched a
Spanish-language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
newspaper called ''
Al Día'' . Initially ''Al Día'' came with a purchase price, but it was later made available free. It was published twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday. Publication ceased in June 2023.
Between 2003 and 2011, a
tabloid-sized publication called ''
Quick
Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed.
Quick may also refer to:
In business
* Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain
* Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear
* Quick (automobile), a ...
'' was published by ''The Dallas Morning News'', which initially focused on general news in a quick-read, digest form, but in later years covered mostly entertainment and lifestyle stories.
In late 2013, ''The Dallas Morning News'' ended its longtime news-gathering collaboration with previously co-owned TV station
WFAA
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...
. The newspaper entered into a new partnership with
KXAS
KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongs ...
at that time.

Historically, the ''Morning News opinion section has tilted conservative, mirroring Texas' drift to the
Republican Party since the 1950s. However, on September 7, 2016, it endorsed
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
for president, the first time it had recommended a
Democrat for president since
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
in 1940. This came a day after it ran a scathing editorial declaring Republican candidate
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
"not qualified to serve as president." It was the first time the paper had refused to recommend a Republican since 1964. Then, ahead of the
2018 midterm elections, the ''Morning News'' once again endorsed a Democratic candidate:
Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
, the challenger to incumbent Senator
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
. In 2024, the ''Morning News'' endorsed
Colin Allred and referenced Allred's
bipartisanship
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...
and Cruz's divisiveness.
In late 2016, ''The Dallas Morning News'' announced it would move away from its home of 68 years on Young Street to a much-smaller
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
on Commerce Street previously used as the Dallas Public Library's downtown branch. Reasons given for the move included technology innovations and fewer staff, as well as printing presses no longer co-located with the newsroom and main offices. By December 2017, the move was completed. The former property was sold in October 2018 to a business partnership, which was looking into possible redevelopment opportunities for the complex, but in December 2018 the partnership backed out of the deal.
Changes were announced in January 2019, which included layoffs and reducing the paper's Business section to one separate section per week, on Sundays; the remainder of the week, Business coverage was placed in the paper's Metro section. A total of 43 employees were affected by the move.
In late February 2019, several printing agreements were not renewed at the ''Morning News''
' suburban printing plant, and 92 positions were affected by the change there. Publications that had to find a different printing partner included the ''
Dallas Observer
''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
'' and ''
Fort Worth Weekly''.
DallasNews Corporation, the paper's owner, announced on Sept. 13, 2023, it would offer buyouts eliminating up to 40 jobs, a 6% reduction in staff count. Buyouts would be offered starting Oct. 16. In May 2024, the company announced it would move its
Plano printing operation, built in 1980, to a smaller facility in
Carrollton. This would result in the elimination of 85 jobs, a 60% staff reduction. The changes were expected to save the company $5 million annually. The News reported in December 2024 it had agreed to sell the Plano location for $43.5 million. A new printing press will be purchased for the new site and should be ready in 2025.
Awards
Pulitzer Prizes
*
1986:
National Reporting
*
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
:
Explanatory Journalism
*
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
:
Feature Photography
*
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
:
Investigative Reporting
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
*
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
:
Spot News Photography
*
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
:
International Reporting
*
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
:
Breaking News Photography
*
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
:
Breaking News Photography
*
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
:
Editorial Writing
George Polk Awards
* 1990:
Gayle Reaves, David Hanners, and David McLemore for regional reporting
* 1994: Olive Talley for education reporting
Overseas Press Club Awards
* 2001:
Cheryl Diaz Meyer for photographic reporting from abroad
See also
*
List of newspapers in Texas
This is a list of newspapers in Texas, United States.
Daily, weekly, and other newspapers
Publications not listed in newspaper directory
* '' Allen American''
* ''Austin Chronicle''
* '' Community Impact Newspaper''
* '' Fort Worth Weekly' ...
* ''
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
In May 1905, Amon G. Car ...
''
References
Further reading
*
Alt URL*
External links
*
Sports Day DFW further sports news coverage
Guidelive news/listings of local entertainment/events
*
Al Día' Spanish-language newspaper
Archive of ''The Dallas Morning News'' issues (1885–1984)at
NewsBank
*
Behind the Pages" look behind the scenes of the paper's operation
Video tourof the ''Morning News'' office space
*
Text of ''The Dallas Morning News'' historical markerfrom Texas Historic Sites Atlas (
Texas Historical Commission)
* Photo
insidean
outsideformer ''Dallas Morning News'' complex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas Morning News, The
Newspapers published in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers
Newspapers established in 1885
1885 establishments in Texas
Daily newspapers published in Texas
Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting winners