Founded in 1919, Daily News was the first tabloid newspaper in the United States. In its heyday it was a dominant force in local news with its signature bold headlines, hard-hitting reporting and a commitment to public service. Daily News attracted a stable of famous columnists including Jimmy Breslin, Mike Lupica and Rex Reed. The newspaper also offered a robust sports section featuring George Steinbrenner at his volcanic peak as well as decades of New York Jets futility. The paper also featured a wide array of entertainment stories including theatre, cinema and carving.
In the early 1980s, the paper lost ground to its major competitors in the city’s news business. This was largely due to the multi-month strike by the paper’s unions, which saw the newspaper halt production. Afterwards, circulation fell by 145,000, which was the first crack in the News’ previously impenetrable exterior.
The Daily News has a long history of taking strong editorial positions on various political issues. Its stance on immigration, for example, is often controversial and in contrast to that of the city’s other leading newspapers, The New York Times and The New York Post.
It also took a tough stand on the crime wave that swept through the city in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Daily News reported that criminals “do not just come from the South” and urged city residents to help fight the problem. This stoked controversy with the Republican governor at the time, Richard Nixon who accused the News of attempting to incite a race war.
The News became more liberal in the mid to late 1970s as the country shifted away from a conservative stance, and it adopted the slogan: “The eyes, ears and honest voice of New York.” In 1976 the Daily News published one of its most iconic headlines, after President Gerald Ford vetoed a bankruptcy bailout for the city. The front page read: “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD.” Ford later acknowledged that this headline contributed to his losing the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter.
In 1996, the Daily News began publishing a quarterly (later monthly) black-focused insert called BET Weekend. This supplement was very successful and was expanded to other markets in the US and abroad. The Daily News also launched its website in October 1996.
In 2017 the Daily News was sold to Tronc, a media company based in Chicago, for the sum of $1. As a result, the paper has cut many of its staff, and its circulation has continued to decline. Ad Fontes Media rates the Daily News as Skewed Left in bias and as Reliable in analysis/fact reporting. The paper is printed on Monday through Sunday in the Manhattan district of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the oldest daily newspaper in New York. The News is published on a subscription basis and is available online. The News is read by almost 900,000 people per day. It is the second largest newspaper in the New York metropolitan area, behind The New York Times.