 In 1997, the Dear family sold "The Gleaner" and other media holdings to the A. H. Belo Corp., a Texas media company that owns "The Dallas Morning News".Belo had purchased "The Messenger-Inquirer" in nearby Owensboro, a year earlier.Belo subsequently decided that the two Kentucky newspapers weren't core to Belo's business of operating newspapers and television stations in larger high-growth markets, particularly in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest.