After breaking away from Dags-Telegraphen's management, Jean Christian Ferslew, the founder and owner, and Emil Bjerring, who was editor from 1876 to 1896, collaborated closely making significant headway in Danish journalism.

Major contributors were Hermann Bang (society), P. Hansen (literature), (R. Besthorn) foreign news and Frantz von Jessen (politics).

While Nationaltidende maintained editorial excellence, it increasingly ran into competition from Dags-Telegrphen (later Dagens Nyheder and Dagbladet), also run by the Ferslew group.

During the 1920s, Berlingske Tidende succeeded in attracting a significant proportion of the capital's classified advertisements, leading to financial problems and changes in staffing at Nationaltidende.

With morning and evening editions each day, together with extensive coverage of foreign news and culture, it was aimed principally at the bourgeoisie and the civil service.