The paper earned a reputation as an unusually hard-nosed newspaper for such a small town, making a name for itself exposing government corruption.
In the midst of a severe recession and increasingly difficult economic times, The Cleveland News Leader closed its doors on June 3, 2009.
The Cleveland News Leader made news itself when its owners sued the City of Cleveland over the board of aldermen's refusal to award the newspaper the municipality's legal advertising after the paper turned in the low bid.
The newspaper claimed it was for political reasons, and eventually won the case with the City of Cleveland settling the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount of money in 2008.
[citation needed] The newspaper's slogan, printed every Sunday in its masthead, was "Regnat Populus," which is Latin for "the people rule."