SIGNIFICANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE NEWS AND OBSERVER 1865 - The Sentinel is founded in Raleigh. The Sentinel is later absorbed by The Observer, which merges with The News in 1880 to become The News And Observer. 1894 - Josephus Daniels purchases the N&O at public auction with the backing of 70 prominent Democrats, whose financial help he had actively solicited on the grounds that his paper would further the party's cause. He eventually paid them all back. The purchasing price of the paper was $10,000. 1894 - August 12 First issue of N&O under Daniels is published; it is 4 pages long. 1907 - The N&O moves to 114 W. Martin Street, where it is detroyed by fire later that year and then rebuilt. 1914 - Another fire destorys the N&O at 114 W. Martin Street; again, it is rebuilt. 1934 - September 3 First "Under the Dome" piece is published 1937 - A production building is added on to the plant. 1948 - January Josephus Daniels dies; control of the paper passes on to his four sons, Josephus Daniels, Jr., Worth, Jonathan, and Frank. 1950 - January 15 First Tar Heel of the Week story published 1955 - June 4 The Park family sells the Raleigh Times to the N&O Publishing Company. The business and advertising staffs of the N&O and Times are combined, but separate news staffs are maintained (until 1987). 1956 - June The present main building at 215 S. McDowell is completed, and the N&O relocates. 1965 - Josephus Daniels, Jr., Business Manager from 1948-1959 and then Chairman of the Board, dies 1966 - August 31 Mini Page begins 1974 - October 19 The N&O purchases the Cary News, a weekly, from Ted Vallas. The N&O had leased the paper since early in the year. 1978 - Worth Daniels, a Washington physician, dies 1980 - Construction of a major addition on Martin Street begins, just before a pressroom fire makes major renovations necessary. 1981 - Jonathan Daniels, editor from 1933-1941 and from 1948-1969, and editor emeritus from 1969-1981, dies 1983 - March 28 Masthead on the front page of the N&O changes. 1983 - July 15 Publication of the TV Observer is changed to Fridays. 1984 - Introduction of the Triangle Observer, a local news/feature section in the Orange County edition of the N&O. 1984 - October 5 Chapel Hill Observer begins publication 1985 - July 14, July 21 400th Anniversary Edition publications 1985 - September 24 New typeface on headlines and columns 1985 - November 1 TV Observer changed to TV Update 1985 - December 26 New type of ink used to print N&O 1986 - Frank Daniels, treasurer, general manager, publisher and finally president from 1928 to 1971 dies. He had served as Chairman of the Board from 1971 to 1986. 1986 - July 29 N&O masthead on front page changes 1986 - August 25 Mini Page moved to Mondays 1986 - September 7 First Travel Section 1986 - November 16 Announcement that editorial and other opinion Pages will move to Perspective Section 1987 - April 18 "Passing Scene" changed to "After Hours" 1987 - May 15 Scoreline is announced 1987 - September 4 N&O and Raleigh Times Merger: Sports 1987 - September 14 N&O and Raleigh Times Merger: Features 1987 - November 9 N&O and Raleigh Times complete merger 1987 - December 4 Chapel Hill Observer section changed to Triangle Observer 1988 - March 3 The Triangle Observer is revamped: It is now zoned separately for Wake, Durham, and Orange counties, and its circulation is expanded giving it the largest distribution of a weekly in the Triangle. 1988 - May 23 Letter Heads and Jumps change style 1988 - October 17 Raleigh Times puts out only one edition 1989 - January 17 Hotline ceases publication 1989 - April 5 Food Section moved to Wednesday from Thursday 1989 - November 30 The Raleigh Times, the company's afternoon paper, ceases publication. Improvements now possible at the N&O are announced, including the addition of a daily news summary, an expanded television schedule, five - as opposed to four - sections, and increased use of color. The introduction of a later press deadline after January 1 will allow for later news and sports scores. 1990 - January 1 The N&O Publishing Company sells its three South Carolina daily newspapers (The Rock Hill Herald, The Beaufort Gazette, and The Island Packet), two affiliated weeklies (Yorkville Enquirer and Clover Herald), and three ancillary publications to McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. for $74.1 million. 1990 - February 27 Starting today, the N&O features the Family Doctor column by Allan H. Bruckheim every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. 1990 - April 14 N&O announces termination of home delivery in Bertie, Chowan, Hertford, Martin, Northampton and Washington counties, and elimation of 50 positions due to budget constraints. 1990 - May 31 N&O announces Dial Sports, a 24-hour service that offers constantly updated sports information from around the world. 1990 - October 14 N&O drops the "Kudzu" comic strip because of heightened political content regarding Senator Helms. 1990 - October 30 Fifty-Plus, a monthly newspaper for older adults begins publication in the N&O. 1991 - July 11 N&O announces the replacement of the Orange Observer and Durham Observer with the Triangle Observer, which has been expanded to include, respectively, more Orange County and Durham County news. 1991 - July 12 N&O renames the Local/State section the Orange Section and expands its coverage of Orange County. The Durham Edition is also launched, with expanded coverage of Durham County. 1991 - September 9 The Scene section is replaced by the Day section, and a new feature called Family - which includes the Child Life column - is introduced for Mondays. Wednesdays will feature Health, Thursdays will feature Working, and Home will remain on Saturdays. Fashion will occupy the back page on Sundays. 1993 - February 25 Last issue of the Triangle Observer 1993 - February 28 Last issue of N&O with the old design 1993 - March 1 First issue of N&O with new (and current) design 1993 - July 8 The N&O announces its purchase of the Chapel Hill News from Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is due to be completed by the end of the month. 1994 - January The N&O agrees to buy new flexographic presses for about $36 million that will provide about 32 color pages a day - a goal unmatched so far in the U.S. To house the new presses, the paper announces plans to build a 5-story building on South Salisbury Street, adjacent to the old building, thereby abandoning its former plan to build on a separate site in Cary, on land at the northeast corner of Harrison Avenue and I40. 1994 - March 1 NandO.net is introduced. 1994 - April Construction begins on the new South Salisbury Street building. 1995 - February 6 The N&O announces its plans to "Build A Better Newspaper" which will include: "News 24" (news updates 24 hours a day via NandO.net and CityLine) the installation of new printing presses by March 1996 Since the installation of the new presses will cause tighter deadlines and limited press activity, the following changes are announced: an all-inclusive Metro section, rather than separate sections for Durham, Wake, and Orange counties the combination of the Food and DAY sections, both to run Wednesdays a new Sports Final newsrack edition since some home-delivered editions will not include the latest sports news 1995 - April 7 The NC/SLA Information Management Award is presented to the N&O Publishing Company 1995 - May 17 The sale of the N&O Publishing Company to McClatchy Newspapers of Sacramento, CA for $373 million is announced. 101 years of Daniels family ownership ends on August 1, when the deal is closed. 1997 - September 20 The new version of "Channels" is introduced, featuring 24-hour program listings in grid format and expanded movie information. -------------------------------- *This file is a work in progress. Please send suggestions, additions, or corrections to the address below. More historical information is available in the NRD Vertical Files, under N&O--History. LAST UPDATED: September 23, 1997 perickso@nando.com