[3] The company took its name from the paper's editor of 19 years, George Outram, an Edinburgh advocate best known in Glasgow for composing light verse.

The Glasgow Herald, under Outram, argued that the promised privileges of the Treaty of Union had failed to materialise and demanded that, for example, that the heir to the British throne be called "Prince Royal of Scotland".

[16] In 1895, the publication moved to a building in Mitchell Street designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which now houses the architecture centre, The Lighthouse.

[3] As of 2003,[update] the newspaper along with its related publications, the Evening Times and Sunday Herald (now defunct), were owned by the Newsquest media group, part of Gannett.

[3] Graeme Smith assumed editorship of The Herald in January 2017, replacing Magnus Llewellin, who had held the post since 2012.

[21] Notable past editors include: John Mennons, 1782; Samuel Hunter, 1803; George Outram, 1836; James Pagan, 1856; William Jack FRSE (1870–1876); James Holburn 1955–1965;[22] George MacDonald Fraser, 1964; Alan Jenkins, 1978; Arnold Kemp 1981; Mark Douglas-Home, 2000; and Charles McGhee, 2006.

Prominent columnists include Alison Rowat,[23] who covers everything from television to international statecraft; former Scottish justice secretary and SNP politician Kenny MacAskill Kevin McKenna and David Pratt[24] and business editor Ian McConnell,[25] both multi-award-winning journalists, provide analysis of their fields every Friday.

[27] Sean Connery once said: "First thing each morning I turn to The Herald on my computer – first for its witty Diary, which helps keep my Scots sense of humour in tune.

The accompanying headline stated, "The Herald's view: we back staying within UK, but only if there's more far-reaching further devolution.