The ''Dumfries Courier'' is a weekly newspaper published in
Annan,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It was founded in 1809 by
Rev. Dr Henry Duncan (1774-1846) as ''The Dumfries and Galloway Courier'' and is currently published by the DNG Media Group as the ''Dumfries Courier''.
History
Henry Duncan, minister of
Ruthwell and creator of the
savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...
, founded the ''Courier'' in order to compete with the ''Dumfries Weekly Journal'', which he described as "an organ of public opinion" with "neither weight nor authority". He obtained his financial backing from his brothers, who were shipping merchants in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. Duncan owned and edited the newspaper until 1817, when he requested that John McDiarmid take over the editorship and become a partner in the business. Both editors displayed a moderate-to-liberal political stance, demonstrated by lengthy commentaries on
prison reform,
suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
,
Catholic emancipation and education.
After McDiarmid's death in 1852, the editorship was taken over by his son, William R. M’Diarmid.
In 1884, the ''Courier'' was purchased by local conservatives and merged with the ''Dumfriesshire and Galloway Herald and Register'' in order to form the ''Dumfries and Galloway Courier and Herald''. In 1939, it ceased publication owing to wartime paper shortages. In 1977, the newspaper, still owned by Dumfriesshire Newspapers Limited, restarted publication under the title ''The Dumfries Courier'', sharing its online presence with DNG Media's other regional titles.
Operations
The paper initially ran bi-weekly and was distributed on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a price of six pence, but became weekly from 1821.
When the paper resumed production in 1977, it did so as a free newspaper.
Notable reporters
*
Robert Carruthers, later of the ''
Inverness Courier''
*
James Pagan, later of the ''
Glasgow Herald''.
See also
*
List of newspapers in Scotland
References
{{Scottish newspapers
Publications established in 1809
Newspapers published in Scotland
19th century in Scotland
1809 establishments in Scotland