The Daily News
Daily News is an American tabloid newspaper founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson, a former publisher of the Chicago Tribune. After disagreements with his co-publisher in the Windy City, Patterson founded the Daily News in New York City to focus on the interests of the people of the Big Apple. It was the first newspaper to be printed in tabloid format and reached its peak circulation of 2.4 million copies per day in 1947.
The newspaper is noted for its sensational pictorial coverage and a willingness to go further than any of its rivals in pursuit of an attention-grabbing front page. Its reporters have included the famous Tom Howard, who strapped a small hidden camera to his leg in order to photograph Ruth Snyder being sent to the electric chair for murdering her husband. The picture, which was published with the headline “DEAD!”, is considered one of the most iconic photographs in the history of American journalism.
In the decades following World War II, the newspaper enjoyed tremendous growth and profits. By the 1980s, however, the Daily News was suffering from a severe loss of readership and revenue. The paper’s parent company, the Tribune Company, even offered it up for sale in an attempt to save money. Closing the newspaper was also a serious consideration, but laying off staff and paying out severance pay and pensions would have cost more than $100 million.
As a result of these financial problems, the Daily News was forced to slash costs and restructure its organization. The newspaper was repositioned as a more “serious tabloid,” and in addition to its print edition, it launched an online version and a mobile application. The Daily News also expanded its television and radio operations. The original 220 East 42nd Street building—an official city and national landmark designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, and the inspiration for the Daily Planet building in the Superman films—is still home to the newspaper’s television station WPIX.
Despite these struggles, the Daily News remains an important source of news and information for New Yorkers. Its editorials are known for their unbiased content, and many of its writers have gone on to become highly respected political figures in the United States and abroad. The Daily News has won several Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of civil rights issues, including the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary awarded to E.R. Shipp for his articles on welfare and race, and in 1998 for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. The Yale Daily News is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States, and its student editors and writers have gone on to achieve success in various fields, including politics, public policy, law, entertainment, and academia. The Yale Daily News features news stories, opinion columns, entertainment coverage, classified ads, comics, sports, and an extensive photo gallery. It is the primary source of news for Yale students, and is published every day when classes are in session.