The Courier

About The Courier

On 20 September 1816, the first edition of The Courier came off a hand-powered printing press in Dundee, priced at seven pence — four pence of which was newspaper tax, making it an unaffordable luxury for most readers. Two centuries later, the paper is still being printed in its home city, still owned by the Dundee publishing dynasty that has controlled it since the 19th century, and still serving the communities of Tayside and Fife. Known for most of its modern history as The Courier & Advertiser, the Dundee daily is one of the great survivors of the British regional press: a title that celebrated its bicentenary in 2016, has been named the UK's best regional newspaper, and whose website, thecourier.co.uk, now carries its journalism far beyond its print heartland.

History and Founding

The Courier was launched on 20 September 1816 in Dundee, Scotland. The first edition was produced on a hand-powered press capable of printing just 25 copies of an eight-page paper per hour, and its price of 7d — with 4d accounted for by newspaper stamp duty — meant copies were widely shared among readers who could not each afford their own. The paper has been printed in Dundee ever since, an unbroken link to its home city spanning more than 200 years.

The title's modern ownership story begins in the late 19th century, when William Thomson bought the company that published the Dundee Courier and Daily Argus. His son David Couper Thomson took over the publishing business in 1884, and in 1905 the firm was established as D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, merging with the other local publishing company run by John Leng. The company flourished to become the third "J" in Dundee's famous "Three Js" — jute, jam and journalism — and remains a privately held, family-controlled business headquartered in the city. Between 1926 and 2012 the paper was known as The Courier & Advertiser; it switched from broadsheet to tabloid format in 2012. In September 2016 the paper celebrated its bicentenary with a 48-page special supplement given away free with the birthday edition, a newly published book detailing its history, and an exhibition of 200 years of archives at the AK Bell Library in Perth.

Mission and Coverage Focus

The Courier's mission, in the words of its editors, has remained constant across two centuries: to be a seeker of information and news from its communities, with the communities themselves shaping the paper's content. Its patch covers Dundee, Angus and the Mearns, Perth and Perthshire, and Fife — published in regional editions tailored to each area — and its journalism spans local news, politics, business, agriculture, sport and community life across the east of Scotland.

The paper's website, thecourier.co.uk, extends that coverage digitally with rolling news, live blogs, video and in-depth features, serving readers across Tayside and Fife as well as the Scottish diaspora. Sport is a major pillar, with extensive coverage of Dundee FC, Dundee United, St Johnstone and the region's junior football, rugby and golf — the area is the historic home of the sport — while the paper's business and farming coverage serves the rural economy of Perthshire and Angus.

Ownership and Funding

The Courier is published by DC Thomson & Co. Ltd, the Dundee-based media group that has owned it since the Thomson family acquired the publishing business in the late 19th century. DC Thomson is one of Britain's largest privately owned media companies, with interests spanning newspapers — including The Courier, Aberdeen's Press and Journal and Evening Express, and the Sunday Post — magazines such as The People's Friend, and the world-famous comics The Beano and The Dandy. The company has offices in Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester and London and employs around 2,000 people.

The Courier is funded by print circulation sales, print and digital advertising, and digital subscriptions. Its publisher has invested in the title's digital transformation as print circulations have declined across the industry, while retaining the paper's commitment to its regional editions — a costly but distinctive feature that sets it apart from many rivals.

Editorial Approach

The current editor of The Courier is David Clegg. He succeeded Richard Neville, who led the paper through its bicentenary year, when it was named Daily/Sunday Newspaper of the Year at the Regional Press Awards. The paper's editorial approach combines traditional daily-newspaper reporting — councils, courts, health boards and police across four local authority areas — with campaigning journalism on issues that matter to the east of Scotland.

Its campaigns have won national recognition: at the 2016 Regional Press Awards, where it took the top daily-newspaper prize, it was also honoured for its campaign on Frank's Law — the campaign to extend free personal care to under-65s with terminal illnesses, named after former Dundee United footballer Frank Kopel. The paper's editors have consistently emphasised community-led journalism, with the bicentenary supplement's message — that the paper's communities have shaped its content for 200 years — serving as a statement of editorial philosophy.

Audience and Reach

The Courier's print circulation stood at around 14,836 as of August 2025, according to industry figures — down from 15,737 in December 2024 and 30,179 in December 2019, reflecting the industry-wide pressures on print. Its digital audience is far larger: thecourier.co.uk reaches readers across Tayside, Fife and beyond, and the title's LinkedIn presence describes it as "Scotland's News Website of the Year." The paper's readership spans Dundee's urban communities, the market towns and farming country of Angus, Perthshire and the Mearns, and the coastal towns of Fife — a diverse patch that the regional-edition structure is designed to serve.

Digital Innovation

Thecourier.co.uk is the digital flagship of DC Thomson's Dundee newspaper operation, publishing breaking news, live blogs, video and interactive content throughout the day. The site has invested in data journalism, newsletters and social media distribution, and its journalists work to digital-first routines while maintaining the print editions that remain central to the business. DC Thomson's wider digital portfolio — which has included ventures such as the genealogy site Findmypast — reflects a publisher that has consistently looked beyond print for growth, and The Courier's newsroom has adopted the analytics, SEO and audience-development disciplines of modern digital publishing while keeping its focus on original local reporting.

Notable Coverage

Two hundred years of publication have made The Courier the first draft of the history of the east of Scotland: the rise and fall of the jute industry that built Dundee, the whaling fleets, the two world wars, the decline of traditional industry and the city's reinvention around life sciences, digital media and its V&A museum. In recent decades its defining stories have included the campaigns for the V&A Dundee, the city's waterfront regeneration, the independence referendum and its aftermath, and the region's agricultural and food industries.

Its campaigning journalism has been among its most notable work: the Frank's Law campaign, recognised at the Regional Press Awards, helped change the national debate on social care for the terminally ill, while its investigations into local public services and its coverage of major criminal cases have repeatedly set the agenda in the east of Scotland.

Community Impact

As a paper that has been printed in Dundee for more than 200 years and owned by a Dundee family business throughout its modern history, The Courier's community roots run deeper than almost any other British regional daily. Its regional editions — covering Dundee, Angus and the Mearns, Perth and Perthshire, and Fife — are designed to give each community its own paper within the paper. Its charity appeals, community awards and support for local causes, from food banks to youth sports, mobilise readers across its patch, and its role as a training ground has shaped generations of Scottish journalists.

Awards and Recognition

The Courier was named Daily/Sunday Newspaper of the Year (above 20,000 circulation) at the Regional Press Awards in 2016 — its bicentenary year — and had earlier been crowned UK Regional Newspaper of the Year. Its Frank's Law campaign was recognised at the same 2016 awards, and its journalists have been honoured in Scottish and UK press awards across news, sport, photography and digital categories. The title's LinkedIn page describes it as "Scotland's News Website of the Year," reflecting the industry recognition its digital operation has earned.

Recent Developments

Since its 2016 bicentenary, The Courier has continued to navigate the transformation of the regional press: consolidating its regional editions (from six in 2013 to three by 2020), investing in its website and digital subscriptions, and managing the decline in print circulation that has affected the entire industry. Under editor David Clegg and DC Thomson ownership, the paper remains committed to its founding proposition — a Dundee-printed daily serving the communities of Tayside and Fife — while building the digital audience that will carry it into its third century.