Detroit Free Press

• 1. The First Daily Press

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  John R. Williams and his uncle Joseph Campau launched the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer on the 5th of May 1831. This publication became Michigan's first daily newspaper. Williams printed the initial issues using a Washington press he bought from the Oakland Chronicle of Pontiac. Workers hauled that heavy machine in a wagon over rough roads to a building at Bates and Woodbridge streets. The hand-operated press required two people to run it. It could produce only 250 pages per hour. The first issues measured four by six inches with five columns of type. Sheldon McKnight served as the first publisher while John Pitts Sheldon acted as editor.

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• 2. Democratic Roots And Ownership Changes

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  Wilbur F. Storey developed the paper into a leading Democratic Party-aligned publication during the 1850s. He left for the Chicago Times in 1861 taking much of the staff with him. William E. Quinby took ownership in the 1870s and continued its Democratic leanings. Quinby also established a London England edition. A group of investors including Otto Carmichael purchased the Free Press in 1904. They sold it for a substantial sum of money five years later. Knight Newspapers bought the paper in 1940. The Detroit News closed the Detroit Times on the 7th of November 1960 leaving the Free Press as one of two major dailies. Home deliveries occurred after 7:00pm until around 1966. A morning Blue Streak Edition appeared at news stands beginning around 1965. Gannett Company purchased the Free Press from Knight Ridder on the 3rd of August 2005.

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• 3. The Joint Operating Agreement Era

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  The newspaper entered a one hundred-year joint operating agreement with its rival in 1989. This combined business operations while maintaining separate editorial staffs. The combined company is called the Detroit Media Partnership. Both papers began to publish joint Saturday and Sunday editions though editorial content remained separate. At that time the Detroit Free Press was the tenth-highest circulation paper in the United States. On the 13th of July 1995 Newspaper Guild-represented employees went on strike. By October about 40% of the editorial staffers had crossed the picket line. Many trickled back over the next months while others stayed out for two and a half years. The strike resolved itself in court three years later. In 1998 the Free Press moved into The Detroit News building on June 26. The partnership expected to place signs on the exterior similar to those on former offices when moving to the Federal Reserve Building in October 2014.

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• 4. Corporate Restructuring And Relocations

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  Gannett split itself into two companies in June 2015. Television broadcasters and digital publishers became part of Tegna Inc. Traditional print publishers formed new Gannett. GateHouse Media completed its purchase of Gannett on the 19th of November 2019. The newspaper announced it would cut four staff positions ahead of this acquisition in November 2019. In December 2024 the newspaper moved from West Fort Street after receiving notice from Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Management Services. Free Press offices relocated to a facility on Clifford Street in the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The Detroit News moved its offices to a historic building at 6001 Cass Avenue. Gannett announced it would close the paper's printing facility in Sterling Heights with 115 jobs lost in January 2025. About six months later Gannett announced it would not renew the joint operating agreement which ended on the 28th of December 2025.

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• 5. Awards And Editorial Recognition

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  The Free Press has received ten Pulitzer Prizes over its history. It also earned four Emmy Awards during that same period. The newspaper won two Salute to Excellence awards from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2018. Its motto remains On Guard for Years. Eric Millikin created art for the 11th of September 2011 front page. Mitch Albom wrote a column about the tenth anniversary of those attacks on the same day. The paper resumed publication of its own Sunday edition on the 7th of May 2006 without content from The Detroit News except for editorial pages. A news partnership with CBS station WWJ-TV channel 62 began in March 2009 to produce First Forecast Mornings. Prior to this partnership WWJ aired absolutely no local newscast at all.

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• 6. Notable Staff And Contributors

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  Mitch Albom served as a prominent columnist for the publication. James Risen worked as an investigative reporter there. David Turnley contributed significant photojournalism to the paper's legacy. Edgar Guest became known for his poetry within the newspaper. Dick Guindon provided political cartoons for decades. Al Neuharth founded USA Today after working at the paper. Jack Ohman won multiple Pulitzer Prizes for his editorial cartoons. Jemele Hill joined the staff as a sports columnist. Royce Howes served as managing editor during key periods. Stephen Henderson covered arts and culture extensively. The list includes over thirty notable figures who shaped the paper's identity through their work.

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