The Yale Daily News
The Yale Daily News has been the primary source of news and debate on campus for over 130 years. Its staff, students and contributors have gone on to prominent careers in journalism and public life. They include William F. Buckley, Lan Samantha Chang, John Hersey, Joseph Lieberman, Sargent Shriver, Paul Steiger, and many others. The newspaper is the oldest college daily in the United States.
In addition to being known for zesty headlines – perhaps best known to modern readers as “Ford to City: Drop Dead” during the city’s financial woes in 1975 – the Daily News has always focused on local news, gossip and star columnists such as Jimmy Breslin, Liz Smith and Pete Hamill. The News has also earned a reputation for investigative reporting. A recent example: the paper and ProPublica together won this year’s Pulitzer Prize in public service for uncovering how a New York City law used to evict tenants from their homes, violating their rights.
At the turn of the 21st century, the Daily News faced a serious rival in its muscular hometown tabloid, the New York Post, and a steady decline in print circulation. It was also buffeted by the general shift to digital news consumption and advertising.
Real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman bought the Daily News in 1993, and under his leadership the paper revived its earning potential. He made big changes, including putting $60 million towards color presses and repositioning the Daily News as a serious tabloid rather than the cheeky rag it had become in the 1980s, when it gave the finger to Republican Senator Ted Cruz via the Statue of Liberty’s hand while rehashing its most famous headline in the direction of incoming President Bill Clinton: “TRUMP TO WORLD: DROP DEAD!”
In 1995, the Daily News left its home of 65 years, 220 East 42nd Street near Second Avenue (designed by architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood), for a single floor office in 5 Manhattan West. The old building was the model for the Daily Planet in the first two Superman films. The News also introduced the successful BET Weekend insert for African Americans in 1996.
The New York Daily News is currently owned by Tronc Inc, a Chicago-based media company that includes the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. The deal gives Tronc a presence in New York, a large market for newspapers and a growing news site with 25 million unique visitors per month. The transaction also assumes all of the Daily News’ operational and pension liabilities, as well as a printing plant in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Readers can submit letters to the editor and guest columns by emailing them to [email protected] or calling the newsroom at (201) 364-7911. Submissions are subject to editorial review and may be edited. See our Newsroom Policies for more information.