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DC Thomson

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D. C. Thomson & Company, Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryNewspapers, Magazines, Comics
Founded1905, by David Coupar Thomson
Headquarters2 Albert Square, Dundee, DD1 9QJ, Scotland
Key people
Andrew Thomson (Chairman)
ProductsSunday Post, The Evening Telegraph
My Weekly, Jackie, Shout
The Beano, The Dandy, Commando
See also: list of DC Thomson Publications
Number of employees
1700
WebsiteD.C. Thomson & Company, Limited: Publishers and Printers

D. C. Thomson & Company, Limited, is a Scottish publishing company based in Dundee, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics. It also owns Friends Reunited,[1] Parragon, and the Aberdeen Journals Group which publishes the Press and Journal. It was a significant shareholder in the former ITV company Southern Television.

The company

The company began as a branch of the Thomson family business when William Thomson became the sole proprietor of Charles Alexander & Company, publishers of Dundee Courier and Daily Argus. In 1884, David Coupar Thomson took over the publishing business, and established it as D.C. Thomson in 1905. The firm flourished, and took its place as the third J in the "Three Js", the traditional summary of Dundee industry ('jam, jute and journalism').[2] Thomson was notable for his conservatism, vigorously opposing the introduction of trade unions into his workforce, and for refusing to employ Catholics.[3]

The company produces more than 200 million comics, magazines, and newspapers every year from offices in Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester and London. As of March 2011, the company employed around 1,700 workers.[4] Although the principal offices are now located outside Dundee city centre at Kingsway, the Courier Building at Meadowside has been retained as the company headquarters. This 1902 building was designed to resemble an American red stone, steel reinforced office block. When a tower extension was added in 1960, the architect T Lindsay Grey kept the same style.

In June 2010, 350 jobs at D.C. Thomson were made redundant with the closure of the West Ward Printworks in Dundee, along with a section of the Kingsway Print Plant.

Acquisition of This England Publishing

D.C. Thomson & Company acquired the magazine company This England Publishing in 2009, which included:

There were nine job losses however the editorial team remain in Cheltenham.

Publications

For a complete list, see List of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd publications.

D.C. Thomson publications include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "brightsolid acquires Friends Reunited". Brightsolid.com. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  2. ^ "Victorian Dundee: Jute, Jam & Journalism". Scottish History. BBC. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Gazetteer for Scotland: David Couper Thomson".
  4. ^ "About Us". D. C. Thomson & Company. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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