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 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, Dundalk, Newry, and Derry.[citation needed]
Sometimes described as having "unionist leanings",[8] and operating an editorial policy supportive of "moderate unionism",[9] the Belfast Telegraph was bought by the Dublin-based Independent News & Media group in March 2000.[10]
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.[11] The weekday morning compact edition was launched on 22 March 2005.[12]
In 2015, the Telegraph launched the magazine supplement Family Life.[13]
The paper now publishes two editions daily, Belfast Telegraph final edition and the North West Telegraph which is distributed in Derry.
Its editor, since April 2020, is Eoin Brannigan.[1]
Awards
The Belfast Telegraph was named as Best UK Regional Newspaper of the Year 2012 by the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards.[14]
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,[15] to 31,340 for the same period in 2019.[16]
^Cunningham, Niall (March 2013). "The Social Geography of Violence During the Belfast Troubles, 1920–22"(PDF). Hummedia.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2018. the Belfast Telegraph has been seen to represent unionist political interests and has always been favoured by the Protestant population
^Gosling, Paul. "Belfast's Newcomers". Global Journalist. Archived from the original on 29 April 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2021. It is not overtly pro-unionist, though it lies slightly in that direction. For example, it usually uses the unionist expression "Londonderry" in favor of the nationalist term "Derry," but it sells well in Catholic areas
^Unsworth, Monika (3 August 1999). "Reading between the lines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 January 2021. the Belfast Telegraph which could be described as a tabloid with unionist leanings
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