The Albuquerque Journal traces its history to 1880. It is the successor to a newspaper called the Golden Gate, which was established in June of that year. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the Golden Gate died and Journal Publishing Company was founded. The first Albuquerque Daily Journal was published on Oct. 14, 1880.

The Daily Journal was published on a single sheet of newsprint, folded to make four pages. Those pages were divided into five columns, and the headlines were miniature compared to those of today. Advertising appeared on the front page. The Daily Journal was published in the evening until the first Territorial Fair opened in October 1881. On Oct. 4 of that year, a morning Journal was published to record the day’s events at the fair. The morning Journal continued for six issues. The last issue was published on Sunday, Oct. 9 – making it the first Sunday newspaper ever to appear in Albuquerque. The Daily Journal was first published in Old Town, a present-day tourist attraction near downtown Albuquerque. In 1882 it moved to the “new” town near the railroad tracks. The operation was housed in a single room at Second and Silver streets. That year the evening paper was discontinued and the Albuquerque Morning Journal appeared. The Morning Journal continued until 1887, when it was absorbed by the Albuquerque Daily Democrat, a newspaper founded in Santa Fe which had moved to Albuquerque.

The paper’s name changed again in 1899 to the Albuquerque Journal-Democrat. A change in policy necessitated the dropping of Democrat from the paper’s name in 1903, and it appeared again as the Albuquerque Morning Journal. Since 1925, the paper has been known as the Albuquerque Journal and followed an independent editorial policy.