the first edition was published september 15, 1903, as "the miami evening record". after the recession of 1907, the newspaper had severe financial difficulties. its largest creditor was henry flagler. through a loan from henry flagler, frank b. shutts, who was also the founder of the law firm shutts & bowen, acquired the paper and renamed it the "miami herald" on december 1, 1910. although it is the longest continuously published newspaper in miami, the earliest newspaper in the region was "the tropical sun", established in 1891. "the miami metropolis", which later became "the miami news", was founded in 1896, and was the "herald"s oldest competitor until 1988, when it went out of business.