In his twenties Dow took up journalism, moving to New York City in 1880 to become a reporter for a financial news service. In 1882 Dow and Edward D. Jones (1856–1920) founded Dow Jones & Company, a firm that delivered bulletins, called “flimsies,” or “slips,” to Wall Street financial houses by messenger. The last delivery of the day included a news sheet that was the forerunner of The Wall Street Journal (Wall Street Journal, The), which was first published July 8, 1889. Dow made his reputation as a financial expert when he was the paper's first editor (1889–1902), and his writings for it form the basis for the “Dow theory” in market analysis. He was a member of the New York Stock Exchange (1885–91) and a partner in the brokerage firm of Goodbody, Glyn & Dow.