From a struggling local record to a Pulitzer-winning powerhouse of investigative journalism

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Founded in 1903, the Miami Herald has evolved from a financially troubled local paper into a 24-time Pulitzer Prize winner. It has survived land booms, depressions, and major legal battles, shaping the landscape of American press freedom while documenting the complex, often turbulent history of South Florida and beyond.

The Miami Herald began as the Miami Evening Record in 1903, founded by Frank B. Stoneman. It faced immediate financial instability, eventually being rescued by a loan from Henry Flagler. Frank B. Shutts acquired the paper and rebranded it as the Miami Herald in 1910. By the 1920s, during the Florida land boom, it had become the largest newspaper in the world by advertising volume, though it nearly collapsed during the Great Depression. In 1939, John S. Knight purchased the paper, beginning a long era of expansion and influence under his family's leadership.

The newspaper has been a pivotal force in First Amendment law. In the 1946 case Pennekamp v. Florida, the Supreme Court protected the Herald's right to criticize judicial operations. Later, in the 1974 landmark case Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, the Court unanimously ruled that the government could not force a newspaper to print rebuttals, cementing the independence of the press. Beyond the courtroom, the Herald has maintained a rigorous investigative focus, notably breaking the story in 2018 regarding the secret 2007 deal that allowed Jeffrey Epstein to avoid prison time for abusing minors.

The Herald's operations have mirrored the shifting economics of modern media. After decades in its iconic Biscayne Bay headquarters, the paper sold the property for $236 million in 2011, moving to suburban Doral in 2013 before eventually transitioning to remote work and a new office in the Waterford Business District. While its print circulation has declined significantly from its 1998 peak of over 440,000, the paper continues to serve the community through initiatives like the Silver Knight Awards, which have recognized outstanding high school seniors since 1959, and its ongoing commitment to investigative reporting, which earned it a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.

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