The Detroit News at 150: A timeline

Nolan Finley The Detroit News
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Detroit News Assistant Multimedia Editor and drone pilot Andy Morrison operates a Detroit News drone in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. Along with David Guralnick, Andy is one of two licensed drone pilot/photographers at The Detroit News. John T. Greilick, The Detroit News

Nolan Finley The Detroit News
Published Updated

Detroit News Assistant Multimedia Editor and drone pilot Andy Morrison operates a Detroit News drone in downtown Detroit on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. Along with David Guralnick, Andy is one of two licensed drone pilot/photographers at The Detroit News. John T. Greilick, The Detroit News

Significant moments in The Detroit News' 150-year history

James E. Scripps, founder of The Detroit News.
James E. Scripps, founder of The Detroit News. The Detroit News Archives

1870-79

1873: James Scripps debuts The Evening News

1880-89

1884: First Sunday edition

1889: Scripps donates art collection to DIA

1890-99

1891: Scripps buys Detroit Tribune

1897: Detroit Newsboy Band forms

Historic image of the Detroit Newsboys Band. Date uncertain.
Historic image of the Detroit Newsboys Band. Date uncertain. Detroit News Photo Archive
The former Detroit Tribune building is seen on Larned Street in this undated photo from the early 1900s.
The former Detroit Tribune building is seen on Larned Street in this undated photo from the early 1900s. Detroit News Photo Archive

1900-09

1902: Scripps wins state Senate seat

1904: Booth family buys Cranbrook

1905: Name changed to The Detroit News

1906: James Scripps dies

1910-19

1912: First aerial photographs

1912: First newspapers delivered by airplane

1915: Groundbreaking for Lafayette Boulevard headquarters

The Detroit News building is shown under construction at 615 W. Lafayette Boulevard.
The Detroit News building is shown under construction at 615 W. Lafayette Boulevard. Detroit News Photo Archive

1920: WWJ, first commercial radio station, goes on air

1926: Reporter Palmer Hutchinson killed by airplane propeller in Arctic

1929: The News buys autogiro, a type of aircraft with rotating vanes and a propeller

1930-39

1931: Miniature train donated to Detroit Zoo

The Detroit Zoo train makes its way around the zoo on March 21, 1939. The railroad was donated by The Detroit News and opened in 1931.
The Detroit Zoo train makes its way around the zoo on March 21, 1939. The railroad was donated by The Detroit News and opened in 1931. Detroit News Photo Archive

1933: Readers buy elephant for Belle Isle Zoo

1933: Spelling Bee debuts

1934: Readers fund Belle Isle Carillon

1935: First Soap Box Derby

Tommy Fisher was the 1940 Detroit Soap Box Derby Champ.
Tommy Fisher was the 1940 Detroit Soap Box Derby Champ. Detroit News Photo Archive

1940-49

1942: 160 News staffers join military

1942: Milton Brooks wins first photo Pulitzer Prize for "The Picket Line"

The first Pulitzer Prize awarded for photography was won by Milton (Pete) Brooks of The Detroit News. Entitled "The Picket Line," his dramatic photo chronicled a violent episode outside the Ford Motor Co.'s strike-bound Rouge Plant in Dearborn on April 3, 1941.
The first Pulitzer Prize awarded for photography was won by Milton (Pete) Brooks of The Detroit News. Entitled "The Picket Line," his dramatic photo chronicled a violent episode outside the Ford Motor Co.'s strike-bound Rouge Plant in Dearborn on April 3, 1941. Detroit News Photo Archive

1950-59

1955: Readers pay to move Mariner's Church

Mariners Church, the Detroit Episcopal City Mission and Taylor Hall for Men Away from Home sat on Woodward on the site now occupied by Hart Plaza in 1934.
Mariners Church, the Detroit Episcopal City Mission and Taylor Hall for Men Away from Home sat on Woodward on the site now occupied by Hart Plaza in 1934. The Detroit News Archives

1960-69

1960: Detroit Times purchased, closed

1963: Peter B. Clark, named publisher, last Scripps descendant to serve in that role

1968: Employees go on strike

1969: News reporter Jean Pearson joins all-woman Antarctica expedition.

On Nov. 12, 1969, the first six women to set foot on the South Pole were, from left, Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Terry Tickhill Terrell, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney and Kay Lindsay.
On Nov. 12, 1969, the first six women to set foot on the South Pole were, from left, Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Terry Tickhill Terrell, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney and Kay Lindsay. U.S. Navy photo

1970-79

1973: The News calls for Nixon to resign

1975: Sterling Heights printing plant opens

1976: Morning circulation begins

1980-89

1982: Detroit News wins second Pulitzer

Reporters Sydney Freedberg and David Ashenfelter won the Pulitizer Prize for Meritorious Community Service, April 12, 1982. Their series exposed a U.S. Navy cover-up of circumstances surrounding deaths of some sailors on Navy ships. Celebrating in the newsroom with them are executive editor Bill Giles, rear, and national editor Janet Mandelstam, right.
Reporters Sydney Freedberg and David Ashenfelter won the Pulitizer Prize for Meritorious Community Service, April 12, 1982. Their series exposed a U.S. Navy cover-up of circumstances surrounding deaths of some sailors on Navy ships. Celebrating in the newsroom with them are executive editor Bill Giles, rear, and national editor Janet Mandelstam, right. George Waldman, The Detroit News

1985: Gannett buys out Scripps family

1989: Joint Operating Agreement with Free Press implemented

1990-99

1993: The News wins third Pulitzer

1995: Reporters go on strike

1995: The News goes online

2000-09

2005: MediaNews Group buys The News

2008: New home delivery model debuts

2010-19

2014: News offices move to Federal Reserve Building

The Federal Reserve building on Fort Street and Griswold in downtown Detroit is another Gilbert property, and now houses The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and Michigan.com, among others.
The Federal Reserve building on Fort Street and Griswold in downtown Detroit is another Gilbert property, and now houses The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and Michigan.com, among others. Max Ortiz, The Detroit News

2020-present

2020: Premium content subscription offered

2022: Jerry Green's Super Bowl coverage streak ends at 56

2023: The News marks 150th anniversary

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