The Belo Corporation was named after Colonel A.H. Belo in the late 1870s. Originally a newspaper publishing business located in Galveston, Texas, the company moved to Dallas, Texas in the 1880s and developed into a corporation consisting of printing and publishing enterprises, broadcasting stations and an online publishing company. Belo Corporation was renamed Belo Corp. in 2001. In 2008, the corporation split into two separate properties, A.H. Belo Corporation and Belo Corp.
The company originated with the
Born on May 27, 1839 in Salem, North Carolina, A. H. Belo was educated in private schools in North Carolina and then assisted his father in the family's dry goods mercantile business. Belo was a Confederate army officer during the Civil War, attaining the rank of colonel, and was injured in two battles. In 1865, Colonel Belo traveled to Texas seeking employment and joined Willard Richardson’s publishing business in Galveston as a bookkeeper. In 1868, Belo married Nettie Ennis, the daughter of Cornelius Ennis, a prominent Texas businessman and the couple had two children, Jeannette and Alfred Jr. A.H. Belo became Willard Richardson’s full partner in 1870, and the company was renamed Richardson, Belo & Co. Following Richardson’s death in 1875, Belo bought the remainder of the business and renamed it A.H. Belo & Co. in 1876. Under Belo’s direction and due to his investment in modern print presses, the newspaper flourished and the business became profitable. In addition to the
After 1906, G.B. Dealey managed the company on behalf of the Belo heirs. Born in Manchester, England, on September 18, 1859, Dealey had immigrated to Galveston, Texas with his family in the early 1870s. He studied in public schools and worked various jobs until 1874, when he joined the
G.B. Dealey’s successors as chairmen of the board of directors were his widow, Olivia Allen Dealey (1946-1960), son, E.M. (Ted) Dealey (1960-1964), son-in-law, James M. Moroney (1964-1968), grandsons, H. Ben Decherd (1968-1972), Joe M. Dealey (1980-1984), and James M. Moroney Jr. (1984-1986), and great-grandson, Robert W. Decherd (1987-present). Under their leadership, A.H. Belo Corporation became the longest surviving business enterprise in Texas and grew into the additional directions of television broadcasting and online publishing.
Starting in the 1960s, the corporation grew by acquiring several newspaper and television businesses. The article by Judith M. Garrett and Michael V. Hazel,
In 2001, the Belo Corporation changed its name to Belo Corp. In 2008, the broadcasting and print businesses were split into separate properties. A.H. Belo Corporation, covering the print newspaper business, became a publicly-traded company, with Robert W. Decherd as chairman, president and chief Executive Officer. The other property, Belo Corp. currently includes 20 television stations and also operates more than 30 websites under the Interactive Media group.
Sources:
“Press Tributes: A. H. Belo,”
Judith Garrett Segura,
Judith M. Garrett and Michael V. Hazel,
A.H. Belo Corporation website:
Belo Corp. website:
The Belo records cover the period 1842-2007 and include materials related to the establishment and operation of the company in Galveston and then Dallas, the acquisition and operation of its newspaper, print publishing, radio, television and online publishing companies, executive correspondence, annual reports, photographs, artwork, scrapbooks, audio and visual tapes, oral history transcripts, artifacts, newspaper issues and clippings related to Dallas historical events, anniversary issues, bound periodicals and books authored by Belo employees. Also included are documents and visual materials related to the Belo and Dealey families.
Digitized items can be accessed online at
The collection is organized into 24 series:
G.B. Dealey Collection, on loan to the DeGolyer Library from the Dallas Historical Society - A667
Collection of
Belo newsfilm collection [motion picture] 1960-1975, Hamon Library, G W Jones Film Collection
Belo radio scripts, 1942-1952, Hamon Library, Special Collections
Blackie Sherrod papers - A2004.0016
Lee Milazzo collection of Dallas Morning News Book Pages, DeGolyer Library - A2010.0054
Collection is open for research use.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the DeGolyer Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
Belo Corporation records, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
Gift, Belo Corporation, 2010.
The records were processed and arranged by Judith Segura, Belo archivist, before donation to Southern Methodist University. The current arrangement closely follows the original organization provided by the former Belo archival staff. A detailed index accompanies the papers.
Judith Segura wrote the original index to the Belo Corporation archive. Ada Negraru wrote the finding aid based on the index to conform to current DACS rules.
Ada Negraru, 2012.