The Dallas Examiner was founded in February 1986 by Dallas attorney Fred J. Finch Jr.

Finch's vision was to provide Dallas with a quality African American weekly paper featuring an in depth look at local news, hence the name Examiner. The first issue included four color photos, a first for a local weekly. The founding editor was Charles O'Neal who guided the Examiner for almost a decade.

Following the death of Mr. Finch, his daughter, Mollie Belt, assumed the publisher's role.

The Examiner is the most widely read African American weekly in the D/FW metroplex and was awarded BEST PAPER of 1996,1997, and 1998 by the Texas Publishers Association.