Texas Newspaper Foundation

Born in England in 1859, George Bannerman Dealey immigrated to Galveston at age 11 with his parents, four brothers and four sisters. He began to work at the Galveston Daily News as an office boy in 1874, replacing his brother Thomas W. Dealey, who had been promoted by Alfred H. Belo, publisher.

By 1885, Thomas was an officer of the reincorporated A.H. Belo & Co., and Belo sent G.B. Dealey to Dallas to oversee the start-up of The Dallas Morning News. The Dallas and Galveston newspapers had their own local staffs and writers but shared a network of correspondents around the state.  The company used leased telegraph lines to send copy the 315 miles from Galveston to Dallas, thus establishing the first “newspaper chain.”

G.B. Dealey was promoted from business manager to general manager, then to vice president, and after Belo’s death, to president before acquiring the company from Belo’s heirs in 1926.  G.B. Dealey was the chief executive of The Dallas Morning News from its first edition on Oct. 1, 1885, until his death in 1946, at which time his mantle was passed to his son. Today, his great-grandson James M. Moroney III is publisher and his great-grandson Robert W. Decherd is chairman, CEO and president of Belo Corp.

Early in the 1920s, G.B. Dealey’s leadership enabled him to expose lawlessness and atrocities of the Ku Klux Klan in Texas, leading to the defeat of the organization’s political candidates from local elections to the governor of Texas. The toll exacted on the company by that principled fight lead to the sale of The Galveston Daily News. However, The Dallas Morning News’ position as a leading Texas newspaper was firmly established and G.B. Dealey’s heirs have never wavered from their commitment to his ideals.

During his long and productive career, G.B. Dealey established the highest standards for fair reporting on controversial issues, acceptance of paid advertising, treatment of workers and generous community service for newspapers.