Belfast Telegraph

Belfast Telegraph
TypeDaily newspaper (except Sundays)
FormatCompact
OwnerMediahuis Ireland
Founders
  • William Baird
  • George Baird
EditorMartin Breen
Founded1870
Political alignment
British unionism
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersBelfast Telegraph House
33 Clarendon Road
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Sister newspapers
Sunday Life
ISSN0307-5664
OCLC number37380368
Websitebelfasttelegraph.co.uk
Former Belfast Telegraph offices, July 2010

The Belfast Telegraph is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland. First published in 1870 as the Belfast Evening Telegraph, as of 2025, its editor-in-chief was Martin Breen.

Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant population", while also being read within Catholic nationalist communities in Northern Ireland.

Owned by Independent News and Media (INM), a Dublin-based media company, from 2000, the INM group of newspapers was acquired by Mediahuis Ireland in 2019. Mediahuis Ireland also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland.

In 2012, the newspaper moved to being exclusively a morning only publication and, as of 2024, no longer revealed circulation figures (sales figures), but rather releases the number of readers "reached" daily.[citation needed] In 2024, Mediahuis stated that the Belfast Telegraph was "reaching 143,311 readers" per day.

History

The newspaper was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird. Its first edition cost half a penny and ran to four pages covering the Franco-Prussian War and local news.

The evening edition of the newspaper was originally called the "Sixth Late", and "Sixth Late Tele" was a familiar cry made by vendors in Belfast city centre in the past. Local editions were published for distribution to Enniskillen, Dundalk, Newry, and Derry.[citation needed]

Its competitors are The News Letter and The Irish News, and local editions of London-based red tops also compete in this market, in some cases selling at a cheaper price than the "Tele".[citation needed]

Sometimes described as having "unionist leanings", and operating an editorial policy supportive of "moderate unionism", the Belfast Telegraph was bought by the Dublin-based Independent News & Media (INM) group in March 2000. It was INM's only print title outside of the Republic of Ireland.

The Belfast Telegraph was entirely broadsheet until 19 February 2005, when the Saturday morning edition was introduced and all Saturday editions were converted to compact. The weekday morning compact edition was launched on 22 March 2005.

In 2015, the newspaper launched the magazine supplement Family Life.

The INM group of newspapers, including the Belfast Telegraph, was acquired by Mediahuis Ireland (in turn owned by the Belgian company Mediahuis Partners NV) in 2019.

As of 2026, the paper was publishing two editions daily, Belfast Telegraph final edition and the North West Telegraph which is distributed in Derry.[citation needed]

Awards

The Belfast Telegraph was named as Best UK Regional Newspaper of the Year 2012 by the Society of Editors Regional Press Awards.

Circulation

Reflecting a decline in newspaper sales generally, circulation of the Belfast Telegraph has declined as of the early 21st century, from 109,571 for the period July to December 2002, to 31,340 for the same period in 2019.

Year (period) Average circulation per issue
2002 (July to December)
109,571
2009 (January to June)
68,024
2010 (July to December)
58,491
2012 (January to June)
53,847
2013 (January to June)
49,228
2014 (July to December)
45,905
2015 (January to June)
44,141
2016 (January to June)
41,912
2017 (July to December)
36,403
2018 (July to December)
33,951
2019 (July to December)
31,340

References

  1. 1 2 Linford, Paul (17 December 2025). "Regional daily editor steps down after six years in post". Hold the Front Page.
  2. 1 2 "Introducing: Our new 156-year Belfast Telegraph newspaper archives show how we told the stories that shaped NI". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Cunningham, Niall (March 2013). "The Social Geography of Violence During the Belfast Troubles, 1920–22" (PDF). Hummedia.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2018. the Belfast Telegraph has been seen to represent unionist political interests and has always been favoured by the Protestant population
  4. ↑ "The Belfast Telegraph". Voxeurop.eu. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Dyson, Steve (23 April 2015). "Dyson at Large: Religion drives UK's biggest regional print market". Hold the Front Page. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ↑ Gosling, Paul. "Belfast's Newcomers". Global Journalist. Archived from the original on 29 April 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2021. It is not overtly pro-unionist, though it lies slightly in that direction. For example, it usually uses the unionist expression "Londonderry" in favor of the nationalist term "Derry," but it sells well in Catholic areas
  7. 1 2 "Independent News and Media acquire the Belfast Telegraph". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 17 March 2000. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Belfast Telegraph parent group INM sold to Belgian firm". bbc.com. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "History - Mediahuis Ireland". mediahuis.ie. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "MediaHuis Readership TGI NI 2023" (PDF). mediahuis.ie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  11. ↑ Unsworth, Monika (3 August 1999). "Reading between the lines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 January 2021. the Belfast Telegraph which could be described as a tabloid with unionist leanings
  12. ↑ McGrath, Brendan (9 February 2000). "Bids lodged for upcoming sale of 'Belfast Telegraph'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Belfast Telegraph expands Saturday coverage". Belfast Telegraph. 9 February 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "Ulster wakes up to new early Telegraph". Belfast Telegraph. 21 March 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ↑ "New Family Life Magazine Launches!". Belfast Telegraph. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  16. ↑ Canning, Margaret (28 May 2012). "Belfast Telegraph is named best regional daily in the UK at prestigious awards ceremony". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. 1 2 "Circulation – Jul to Dec 2002 – Belfast Telegraph – Evening" (PDF). abc.org.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Circulation – Jul to Dec 2019 – Belfast Telegraph" (PDF). abc.org.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "ABC Figures: All regional dailies fall in circulation – Journalism News from". HoldtheFrontPage. 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  20. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (18 February 2011). "Belfast Telegraph sales fall further". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "Dailies down in latest Northern Ireland ABCs". Press Gazette. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  22. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (22 August 2013). "Irish Times sale falls by 9% and Irish News overtakes the Belfast Telegraph". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "UK regional dailies see sales decline by average of 10 per cent year on year". Press Gazette. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "Ireland's newspapers suffer continuing slide in circulations". The Guardian . 21 August 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  25. ↑ "ABC Figures for island of Ireland announced – Journalism News from". HoldtheFrontPage. 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  26. ↑ "Circulation – Jul to Dec 2017 – Belfast Telegraph" (PDF). abc.org.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  27. ↑ "Circulation – Jul to Dec 2018 – Belfast Telegraph" (PDF). abc.org.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2020.