The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, by

Mediahuis Ireland Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media, or INM) is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites in ...

, which also publishes the

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish 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 backgrou ...

, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

population", while also being read within

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

communities in Northern Ireland. It has been owned by

Independent News and Media Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media, or INM) is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites in ...

, a Dublin-based media company, since 2000, and is the company's only print title outside of the Republic of Ireland.

History

It was first published as the ''Belfast Evening Telegraph'' on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird. Its first edition cost half a penny and ran to four pages covering the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and local news. The evening edition of the newspaper was originally called the "Sixth Late", and "Sixth Late Tele" was a familiar cry made by vendors in Belfast city centre in the past. Local editions were published for distribution to

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

, and

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. Its competitors are ''

The News Letter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in September 1737. The ...

'' and ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'', and local editions of London-based red tops also compete in this market, in some cases selling at a cheaper price than the "Tele". Sometimes described as having "unionist leanings", and operating an editorial policy supportive of "moderate unionism", the ''Belfast Telegraph'' was bought by the Dublin-based

Independent News & Media Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media, or INM) is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites in ...

group in March 2000. The ''Belfast Telegraph'' was entirely broadsheet until 19 February 2005, when the Saturday morning edition was introduced and all Saturday editions were converted to compact. The weekday morning compact edition was launched on 22 March 2005. In 2015, the ''Telegraph'' launched the magazine supplement ''Family Life''. The paper now publishes two editions daily, ''Belfast Telegraph'' final edition and the ''North West Telegraph'' which is distributed in

. Its editor, since April 2020, is Eoin Brannigan.

Awards

The ''Belfast Telegraph'' was named as Best UK Regional Newspaper of the Year 2012 by the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards.

Circulation

Reflecting a decline in newspaper sales generally, circulation of the ''Belfast Telegraph'' has declined as of the early 21st century, from 109,571 for the period July to December 2002, to 31,340 for the same period in 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belfast Telegraph 1870 establishments in Ireland Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom Independent News & Media Mass media in Belfast Newspapers published in Northern Ireland Newspapers established in 1870