Belo Group: landmarks
Landmarks
This chronology is indicative only.
It covers -
- beginnings (1829)
- establishment of A H Belo (1926)
- King Broadcasting established (1947)
- Providence Journal buys King (1992)
- Belo buys Providence Journal Co (1997)
- moving out of print (2000)
Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline.
Beginnings
1829 Providence Journal launched
1842 Galveston Daily News founded
1857 Texas Almanac founded
1865 Alfred Horatio Belo joins Daily News, becomes majority owner
1885 launches Dallas Morning News
1903 Providence Journal launches Block Island Wireless
1922 Belo launches radio WFAA-AM in Dallas
Establishment of A H Belo
1926 Belo's family sells The Morning News, company renamed A. H. Belo Corporation
King Broadcasting established
1947 Dorothy Stimson Bullit founds King Broadcasting
1950 Belo buys Dallas television station KBTV, renamed WFAA-TV
1953 King buys KGW Portland (launched 1922) from Newhouse
1954 General Tire & Rubber (GTR) sells radio WEAN Providence to Providence Journal Co.
1963 Belo buys Arlington Daily News, Garland Daily News, Grand Prairie Daily News, Irving Daily News, Mid-Cities Daily News, Richardson Daily News and Suburban News suburban papers
1969 buys KFDM-TV in Beaumont/Port Arthur (Texas)
1973 Ted Turner buys WCTU-TV
1980 sells WCTU-TV to Westinghouse, which renames station WPCQ-TV
1980 Belo buys WTVC in Chattanooga, Tennessee
1983 listed on New York Stock Exchange
1984 buys network-affiliated television stations in Houston, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto (California) Hampton/Norfolk (Virginia) and Tulsa (Oklahoma) from Dun & Bradstreet for US$606m
1984 sells Chattanooga and Beaumont stations
1985 Westinghouse sells WPCQ-TV, renamed WCNC-TV
1986 KHNL-13 sold to King Broadcasting Company
1990 Providence Journal Co buys WCNC-TV
Providence Journal buys King
1992 buys King Broadcasting Company
1994 Belo buys WWL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana
1995 buys KIRO-TV in Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
1995 buys The Eagle daily in Bryan/College Station, Texas
1995 Providence Journal sells cable television operations (Colony, Copley/Colony, King Video, Palmer) to Continental Cablevision (subsequently MediaOne) for US$1.4bn
1996 buys Owensboro (Kentucky) Messenger-Inquirer daily newspaper
1996 launches Arlington (Texas) Morning News
1996 takes stake in Riverside (California) Press-Enterprise: Press-Enterprise and five community weekly papers (Temecula Rancho News, Lake Elsinore Valley Sun-Tribune, Sun City News, Corona-Norco Independent and Moreno Valley Valley Times)
1996 Providence Journal Company lists on New York Stock Exchange
1997 Belo buys KENS 5 station
1997 buys Henderson (Kentucky) Gleaner
Belo buys Providence Journal
1997 buys Providence Journal Company (newspapers, cable tv, radio and television stations) for US$1.5 billion, sells radio stations
1997 sells controlling interest in Food Network to Scripps for US$75m plus former Harte-Hanks broadcast stations in San Antonio
1997 buys remaining interest in Riverside Press-Enterprise group
1998 WFAA becomes first US VHF station to transmit a digital signal on permanent basis
1999 buys 12.38% stake in Dallas Mavericks and 6.2% American Airlines Center for US$24m
1999 launches Texas Cable News (TXCN)
1999 buys Moreno Valley Times
1999 sells KASA-TV in Albuquerque (New Mexico) and KHNL-TV in Honolulu
1999 sells KXTV10 to Gannett
Moving out of print
2000 sells Bryan-College Station Eagle
2000 buys KONG-TV in Seattle (Washington) and KASW-TV in Phoenix (Arizona) for US$16.1m
2000 sells Henderson (Kentucky) Gleaner to Scripps
2000 sells KOTV in Tulsa to Griffin Communications
2000 sells Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer to Paxton Media Group
2000 changes name from A. H. Belo Corporation to Belo Corp
2001 buys KSKN-TV in Spokane for US$5m
2002 sells stake in Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center for US$27m
2002 buys KTTU-TV in Tucson