Detroit Free Press

The newspaper was launched by John R. Williams and his uncle, Joseph Campau, and was first published as the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer on May 5, 1831.{{cite web| url=http://michigannewspaperhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/20854498/Oakland%20County| title=Oakland County| year=2009| website=Michigan Newspaper History}} It was renamed to Detroit Daily Free Press in 1835, becoming the region's first daily newspaper.{{cite web| url=https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/detroit-free-press| title=Detroit Free Press |website=Detroit Historical Society| access-date=2017-08-25}} Williams printed the first issues on a Washington press he purchased from the discontinued Oakland Chronicle of Pontiac. It was hauled from Pontiac in a wagon over rough roads to a building at Bates and Woodbridge streets in Detroit. The hand-operated press required two men and could produce 250 pages per hour. The first issues were {{convert|14|x|20|in|mm}} in size, with five columns of type. Sheldon McKnight became the first publisher, with his uncle John Pitts Sheldon as the editor.

In the 1850s, the paper was developed into a leading Democratic Party-aligned publication under the ownership of Wilbur F. Storey. Storey left for the Chicago Times in 1861, taking much of the staff with him.{{Cite DAB |title=Storey, Wilbur Fisk |year=1936 |author=Willard Grosvenor Bleyer}} In the 1870s ownership passed to William E. Quinby, who continued its Democratic leanings and established a London, England edition.

In 1940, the Knight Newspapers (later Knight Ridder) purchased the Free Press. During the next 20 years, the Free Press competed in the southeastern Michigan market with The Detroit News and the Detroit Times, until the Times was purchased and closed by the Detroit News on November 7, 1960. The Free Press was delivered and sold as a night paper, with home deliveries made after 7:00{{nbsp}}pm until around 1966. A morning "Blue Streak Edition" was available at news stands beginning around 1965, meaning the Free Press actually printed two editions per day. During that period The Detroit News was sold and delivered as an afternoon newspaper.

In 1989, the paper entered into a one hundred-year joint operating agreement with its rival, combining business operations while maintaining separate editorial staffs. The combined company is called the Detroit Media Partnership. The two papers also began to publish joint Saturday and Sunday editions, though the editorial content of each remained separate. At the time, the Detroit Free Press was the tenth-highest circulation paper in the United States, and the combined Detroit News and Free Press was the country's fourth-largest Sunday paper.

On July 13, 1995, Newspaper Guild-represented employees of the Free Press and News and the pressmen, printers and Teamsters working for the "Detroit Newspapers" distribution arm went on strike. By October, about 40% of the editorial staffers had crossed the picket line, and many trickled back over the next months while others stayed out for the two and a half years of the strike. The strike was resolved in court three years later, and the unions remain active at the paper, representing a majority of the employees under their jurisdiction.

File:News Free Press Building.JPG

In 1998, the Free Press vacated its former headquarters in downtown Detroit and moved to offices into The Detroit News{{'}} building and began to operate from its new offices in that building on June 26 of that year.{{cite news| last=Grimm| first=Joe| url=http://www.freep.com/jobspage/club/600.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990819234350/http://www.freep.com/jobspage/club/600.htm| archive-date=August 19, 1999| title=600 W. Fort: Built for newspapering| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| access-date=2019-06-10}}

On August 3, 2005, Knight Ridder sold the Free Press to the Gannett Company, which had previously owned and operated The Detroit News. Gannett, in turn, sold The News to MediaNews Group; Gannett continues to be the managing partner in the papers' joint operating agreement.{{Cite news|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|date=2005-08-04|title=2 Huge Publishing Chains Swap Newspapers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/business/media/2-huge-publishing-chains-swap-newspapers.html|access-date=2021-09-07|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=Detroit papers change hands in 3-company deal|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2005/08/04/detroit-papers-change-hands-in-3-company-deal/|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en}}

The Free Press resumed publication of its own Sunday edition, May 7, 2006, without any content from The News, other than that The News would print its editorial page in the Sunday Free Press.{{Cite web|title=Detroit News, The {{!}} Detroit Historical Society|url=https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/detroit-news|access-date=2021-09-07|website=detroithistorical.org}}

File:FederalReserveBankDetroit.jpg

On December 16, 2008, Detroit Media Partnership (DMP) announced a plan to limit weekday home delivery for both dailies to Thursday and Friday only. On other weekdays the paper sold at newsstands would be smaller, about 32 pages, and redesigned. This arrangement went into effect March 30, 2009.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/business/media/31paper.html?_r=1 |first1=Richard |last1=Pérez-Peña |author2=Mary Chapman |title=Detroit's Daily Papers Are Now Not So Daily |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 31, 2009 |access-date=March 4, 2011}}

The Free Press entered a news partnership with CBS owned-and-operated station WWJ-TV channel 62 in March 2009 to produce a morning news show called First Forecast Mornings. Prior to the partnership, WWJ aired absolutely no local newscast at all.{{cite news |last=Marcucci |first=Carl |title=Free Press will join WWJ-TV for reports |url=http://rbr.com/free-press-will-join-wwj-tv-for-reports/ |access-date=June 22, 2012 |newspaper=Radio + Television Business Report.com |date=March 29, 2009}}

In February 2014, the DMP announced its offices along with those of the Free Press and The Detroit News would occupy six floors in both the old and new sections of the former Federal Reserve building at 160 West Fort Street. The partnership expected to place signs on the exterior similar to those on the former offices.{{cite news| title=Free Press, News moving to new home in core of downtown Detroit| url=http://www.freep.com/article/20140219/BUSINESS06/302190176/detroit-free-press-building-moves-federal-reserve| last1=Zaniewski| first1=Ann| last2=Gallagher| first2=John| work=Detroit Free Press| date=February 20, 2014| access-date=May 16, 2014}}{{cite news| title=Detroit News, Free Press, DMP will occupy 6 floors in old Federal Reserve building| url=http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140423/BIZ03/304230078| last=Aguilar| first=Louis| work=The Detroit News| date=April 23, 2014| access-date=May 16, 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425194807/http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140423/BIZ03/304230078| archive-date=April 25, 2014| df=mdy-all}} The move took place beginning in October 2014.{{cite news| title=News moving out, leaving century of memories behind| url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/neal-rubin/2014/10/23/rubin-detroit-news-memories/17817013/| last=Rubin| first=Neil| date=October 24, 2014| newspaper=The Detroit News| access-date=October 27, 2014}}

In June 2015, Gannett split itself into two companies. The company's television broadcasters and digital publishers became part of a new company known as Tegna Inc. while its traditional print publishers became part of a new Gannett.{{cite news| title=Gannett, owner of Detroit Free Press, splits into two| first=JC| last=Reindl| url=https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2015/06/29/new-gannett-tegna-first-day/29462459/| date=June 29, 2015| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| access-date=July 17, 2020}}

In November 2019, the newspaper announced it would cut four staff positions ahead of the GateHouse Media conglomerate completing its purchase of Gannett. The Gannett board finalized the purchase agreement on November 19, 2019.{{cite news |url=http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/23696/layoffs_planned_at_detroit_free_press_ahead_of_sale_to_hedge_fund-backed_group |title=Layoffs Planned At Detroit Free Press Ahead Of Sale To Hedge Fund-Backed Group |date=November 13, 2019 |first1=Violet |last1=Ikonomova |journal=Deadline Detroit.com |access-date=November 13, 2019}}{{cite news| title=CEOs of new Gannett: 'Pivot' needed for digital transformation as merger is completed| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/11/19/gannett-new-media-investment-group-merger-gatehouse-media/4203820002/| first=Nathan| last=Bomey| newspaper=USA Today| date=November 19, 2019| access-date=July 17, 2020}}

In 2025, Gannett announced it will close the paper's printing facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan with 115 jobs lost. The production of 32 newspaper will be transferred to other printing plants.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Detroit Free Press' printing facility in Sterling Heights to shutter in August |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/macomb/2025/01/21/detroit-free-press-sterling-heights-operations-facility-closing/77859894007/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}}

• Screen & Radio Weekly (1934–1940)
• The Detroit Almanac: 300 Years of Life in the Motor City (2001). Peter Gavrilovich and Bill McGraw, editors. {{ISBN|0-937247-34-0}}

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• Mitch Albom
• Edward A. Batchelor
• Jack Berry{{cite web|url=https://thegolfwire.com/113375-2/|title=Veteran Detroit-Area Sportswriter Jack Berry Named Recipient of PGA Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award - The Golf Wire|date=February 15, 2007|website=The Golf Wire|access-date=January 1, 2022}}
• Eva Best
• Donna Britt
• Frank Bruni
• Mike Downey
• Joe Falls
• John Gallagher
• David Gilkey
• Robin Givhan
• Susan Goldberg
• Ellen Goodman
• Gary Graff
• Sam Greene
• Edgar Guest
• Dick Guindon
• Ken Hamblin
• Stephen Henderson
• Jemele Hill
• Lee Hills
• Royce Howes
• Clark Hoyt
• Joe S. Jackson
• David Cay Johnston
• Dorothy Misener Jurney
• Michelle Kaufman
• David Lawrence Jr.
• John C. Lodge
• Kurt Luedtke
• Myra MacPherson
• Dori J. Maynard
• Eric Millikin
• Elvis Mitchell
• Al Neuharth
• Jack Ohman
• Rob Parker
• William E. Quinby
• Rochelle Riley
• James Risen
• Gene Roberts
• Neal Rubin
• Lyall Smith
• Jennie O. Starkey
• Wilbur F. Storey
• Joe Stroud
• Neely Tucker
• David Turnley
• Rob Wagner
• Lewis Walter
• Taro Yamasaki

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{{Portal|Michigan|Journalism}}

• Media in Detroit

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{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Detroit Free Press}}

• [https://www.freep.com Official website]
• [http://www.detroit1701.org/Detroit%20Free%20Press%20Building.html The Detroit Free Press Building]
• [http://detroitnewspapers.com Detroit Newspaper Partnership]

{{Gannett}}

{{PulitzerPrize PublicService 1926–1950}}

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Category:Newspapers published in Detroit

Category:Gannett publications

Category:Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers

Category:Newspapers established in 1831

Category:Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winners