The newspaper was established in 1982 as the
Golden City Press by
James R. A. Bailey and the
South African Associated Newspapers (SAAN) group. The following year, "Golden" was dropped from the newspaper's name. SAAN later withdrew from its partnership with Bailey and the newspaper ran into financial difficulties.
Nasionale Pers took over the publication of the newspaper as well as its sister publications,
Drum and
True Love & Family, on 1 April 1984. In June 2024,
Moneyweb reported the newspaper would cease print in October. A month later Media24 announced it will suspend the planned closure until the
Competition Commission approves of its plan to sell newspaper distribution company On-The-Dot to Novus, which was the reason behind the paper's planned shuttering. In February 2026, it was announced that Media24 would be closing City Press. == Content ==