Texas Almanac, 1949-1950 Page: 35
[674] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS.
partment ample space is left for future expan-
sion. "Build it for fifty years to come," said
Mr. Dealey, "keeping in mind what the next
fifty years will bring to Texas and to Dallas."
The plant is open to the public; guides
make the rounds of the building several times
daily. Many thousands of people visited the
building during the first two months after
its opening. All are welcome.
The News, 1842-1949.
While The News was first issued in Dallas
Oct. 1, 1885, the institution which has owned
and controlled it for more than a century had
its beginnings in Galveston on April 11, 1842,
with the establishment of The Galveston
News.
The first owner was Samuel Bangs, color-
ful character associated at times with Jean
Lafitte, the privateer. After a brief space,
however, ownership passed into the hands of
Willard Richardson, the first of three great
publishers whose overlapping directorship
has given The News continuity and consist-
ency ot character through more than a cen-
tury. He was the "Father of Texas Journal-
ism" in the sense that he gave Texas for the
first time a newspaper of regional interest
and influence and conducted it upon a jour-
nalistic plane which was prophetic of today's
best standards of American journalism.
Richardson's Proprietorship.
The prestige of The News grew rapidly
under the guidance of Willard Richardson.
During the Mexican War which followed
close on the heels of the annexation of Texas,
The News distinguished itself with its inti-
mate accounts of the conflict, the first of a
long record of news-reporting achievements.
At the same time, annexation and the quick
conclusion of the war brought the first great
opportunity for quickening the development
of the state's resources by accelerating the
growth of Dopulation. The editorial policy of
The News was directed at encouraging migra-
tion from the older states. It was in these
early years that The News' traditional edito-
rial interest and leadership in the economic
and cultural progress of Texas was estab-
lished. Out of this interest came the estab-
lishment of the Texas Almanac in 1857.
But the postannexation period of prosperity
was short-lived. Texas had entered the Union
as a "slave state." Most of its citizens had
come from the Old South. Its sympathies
were strongly with that region in the bitter
conflict that had been developing. As the
"irrepressible conflict" approached, The
News threw the weight of its editorial col-
umns with the Secessionists.
Though forced to leave Galveston with the
capture of that city by the Union forces in
1862, The News carried valiantly on in Hous-
ton where the burning of its temporary home,
with its newspaper files, added to the diffi-
culties imposed by the federal blockade and
other adverse conditions of the Southern Con-
federacy's failing cause. The News proved to
be a powerful force for sustaining morale
throughout the dark years of the war and
the hardly less dark years of Reconstruction
that followed. The last editorial campaign of
Richardson before his death in 1875 was di-
rected at the redemption of Texas from "the
thief and the scalawag."
Colonel Belo.
The tragic close of the War Between the
States turned the footsteps of many a young
man toward the hopeful West. Among these
was the second of the three outstanding per-
sonalities that have guided The News through
its more than a century of constructive jour-
nalism. Col. A. H. Belo, late of the Confed-
erate Army, came to Texas from his native
North Carolina in 1865 and joined the staff
of The News shortly before it returned from
Houston to Galveston.He soon became Richardson's right-hand
man in the management of the paper and,
after the latter's death in 1875, became the
principal owner of the paper. He continued as
the executive head of the enterprise until his
death in 1901.
A Boy Gets a Job.
It was a period of economic and cultural
progress for the young state after it was re-
leased from the bonds of the Reconstruction
period. A network of rail lines rapidly con-
nected the coast cities with the Texas hinter-
land, populous centers sprang up on the
Blackland Prairies and the beginnings of in-
dustrialization became apparent.
The management of The News looked up
across the broad expanse of Texas with its
onward-moving population and saw the inland
opportunity. The News became widely circu-
lated in rapidly developing upland Texas. A
larger staff was needed and several men who
subsequently made large contributions to the
growth of the paper were added, including
John J. Hand, Donaldson C. Jenkins, Thomas
W. Dealey and R. G. Lowe.
It was in this period that the third out-
standing personality in the history of The
News joined its forces. On Oct. 12, 1874,
Colonel Belo. with the approval of Willard
Richardson, employed a fifteen-year-old Brit-
ish-born lad, G. B. Dealey, who began as
office boy. It was about one year before the
death of Richardson, so for approximately
one year the tenures of the three overlapped.
The tenures of Mr. Dealey and Colonel Belo
ran concurrently until the death of the latter
in 1901. The resourceful and industrious young
man advanced rapidly in the confidence of
the company's officials.
Founding of The News in Dallas.
As the clouds of war and Reconstruction
had cleared, The News had rapidly expanded
its facilities. The Galveston News began pub-
lication as a daily in 1865, the outgrowth of
the daily war extras started in the fall of
1864. The Weekly News, however, was con-
tinued and expanded. But it was soon realized
that, even with improving transportation fa-
cilities, The News could not serve the great
expanse of inland Texas from its Gulf Coast
headquarters with a single publication. After
an extensive survey of interior cities, The
Dallas Morning News was established, Oct. 1,
1885. After the extension of telegraph service
to Dallas in 1872, The News had maintained
a bureau in this city and had been active in
promoting the interests of the North Texas
region. Young Dealey was active in making
the survey and was given a responsible posi-
tion with the North Texas publication from
its beginning.
The Galveston and Dallas publications were
connected by leased wire and were issued
primarily as duplicate publications, a jour-
nalistic innovation that attracted nation-wide
editorial comment. However, the Dallas pub-
lication soon outdistanced the sister enter-
prise at Galveston and developed a journalis-
tic character of its own.
Semi-Weekly Farm News.
The Weekly News was published in Gal-
veston and Dallas, the name later being
changed to The Semi-Weekly Farm News.
Publication was continued in each city until
1923 when The Semi-Weekly Farm News at
Galveston was merged with the Dallas edi-
tion. It continued as a leading farm journal of
Texas until Dec. 31, 1940, when changing
economic conditions and the outbreak of the
war crisis in Europe caused the management
to consolidate it with The Dallas Morning
News.
Another member of The News group was
established in The Dallas (evening) Journal
in 1914. It continued until 1938, when it was
sold to other owners.35
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1949-1950, book, 1949; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117167/m1/37/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.