The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. With its 1995 buy-out of long-time rival the Houston Post, the Chronicle became Houston's newspaper of record.
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily paper owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation, a privately held multinational corporate media conglomerate with 10billioninrevenues.Thepaperemploysnearly2,000people,includingapproximately300journalists,editors,andphotographers.TheChroniclehasbureausinWashington,D.C.,andAustin.Itreportsthatitswebsiteaverages125millionpageviewspermonth.Thepublicationservesasthe"newspaperofrecord"oftheHoustonarea.PreviouslyheadquarteredintheHoustonChronicleBuildingat801TexasAvenue,DowntownHouston,theHoustonChronicleisnowlocatedat4747SouthwestFreeway.Inadditiontoitsdailyprintedition,theChronicleoffersChron.com,afreeonline−only,ad−supportednewspapercoveringbreakingnews,weather,traffic,popculture,andcitylife.Houstonchronicle.com,launchedin2012,isasubscriber−onlypaperthatcontainseverythingfoundinthedailyprintedition.Fromitsinception,thepracticesandpoliciesoftheHoustonChroniclewereshapedbystrong−willedpersonalitieswhowerethepublishers.Thehistoryofthenewspapercanbebestunderstoodwhendividedintotheerasoftheseindividuals.TheHoustonChroniclewasfoundedin1901byaformerreporterforthenow−defunctHoustonPost,MarcellusE.Foster.Foster,whohadbeencoveringtheSpindletopoilboomforthePost,investedinSpindletopandtook30 of the return on that investment—at the time equivalent to a week's wages—and used it to fund the Chronicle.
The Chronicles first edition was published on October 14, 1901, and sold for two cents per copy, at a time when most papers sold for five cents each.