The Daily News
Founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City, Daily News is one of America’s oldest tabloid newspapers. It was the first US newspaper to be printed in tabloid format and reached its peak circulation of 2.4 million copies a day in 1947, making it one of the largest newspapers in the world. Today it has a circulation of just under 800,000 and is owned by Tronc Inc.
The News has long had a reputation for a brassy style of journalism that was particularly effective in its ability to grab attention with sensational pictorial coverage. In addition to intense city news coverage, the newspaper also carried extensive celebrity gossip and classified ads, a comics section, sports, and a political column. In the 1920s, the paper was one of the first to use the Associated Press wirephoto service and employed a large staff of photographers.
By the 1980s, the paper’s reliance on union contracts was proving to be a major financial liability. By the end of the decade, the Daily News was operating at a loss of more than $1 million per month. Several attempts were made to sell the newspaper, but the parent company Tribune Company was reluctant to let go of the tabloid, which had become a symbol of its efforts to break away from the influence of organized labor. Closing the paper was considered, but it was determined that severance pay and pensions would cost in excess of $100 million.
During this period, the News was able to negotiate with its unions and reduce costs, but its profit margin still fell below that of the competing New York Times. The newspaper also faced increasing competition from free newspapers such as the Village Voice and other suburban publications that specialized in specific interests, including gay issues, race relations, and women’s rights.
A series of big-name managers tried to revitalize the newspaper in the late 1980s, but the efforts failed. By 1989, the Daily News was hemorrhaging money and its editorial direction was skewed toward the right, which alienated many readers.
In 1993, Mort Zuckerman purchased the News from the Tribune Company for just under $40 million. He immediately began cutting costs by eliminating redundant jobs and closing departments, resulting in the culling of nearly half the newspaper’s editorial staff. He also invested $60 million in color presses to allow the News to compete visually with USA Today, and launched the quarterly insert BET Weekend for African Americans.
In 2017, the Daily News was sold to Tronc for just $1, but the paper’s circulation continued to decline rapidly. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the paper introduced an online-only version in 2019 that was accompanied by an editorial policy change. The new editors have sought to revive the newspaper’s readership with an emphasis on local content, focusing on politics and government, and reducing coverage of celebrity and entertainment stories. However, it is unclear whether this strategy will be successful in reversing the newspaper’s fortunes.