A newspaper is a publication that primarily contains news, information and opinion. It usually also includes advertising. This type of media is a form of mass communication that is widely distributed and read by people of all ages. It is one of the oldest forms of media and has been in existence for centuries.
There are many types of newspapers, ranging from local daily papers to national newspapers with extensive circulation. Some newspapers also specialize in specific areas, such as sports, business and political news, or the arts. In addition to news, most newspapers contain editorials and articles on various topics.
The New York Daily News is an American daily newspaper that was founded in 1919 and has been published continuously since then. Its peak circulation was 2.4 million copies per day. Today, it is the 11th-highest circulated newspaper in the United States.
Its market penetration was 123 percent in the 1920s, but it has fallen to 53 percent by 2000. This figure is based on a survey of households in the United States, which found that an average household received 1.23 newspapers at home.
Despite the declining print market, newspapers continue to be an important source of news and information. However, the Internet has made it possible for people to access their local paper’s content anytime, anywhere, without having to physically pick up a copy of the newspaper.
Online editions are updated as frequently as news becomes available, even several times per day. This enables them to be more accurate than traditional printed versions.
Digital publications may also be able to offer exclusive content that is not otherwise available in print, such as special features and advertisements. The cost of these features is often lower than that of the same content in traditional print editions.
In the past, most newspapers were printed on cheap, off-white paper known as newsprint; in the 1980s, this type of printing became less popular, and high-quality, four-color process offset printing became commonplace. This has enabled newspapers to improve their design, and in some cases, the quality of the photographs they publish.
The Internet has also made it possible for newspapers to expand their reach beyond their traditional geographic area. Some newspapers now publish online only; others print in both print and electronic format.
It is not uncommon for newspapers to provide a website for their readers to access the most up-to-date information, or to make it easy for users to e-mail stories or print them from the site. The Web also allows newspapers to reach a much larger audience than they would have otherwise, through social networking sites and advertising on other websites.
Almost all newspapers are businesses, which means that their success is largely dependent on revenue and profitability. This can be achieved through subscriptions, sales of advertising space or newsstands and other methods of selling newspapers.
They are not apolitical, but are subject to the interests of advertisers and their customers (usually residents of their city or town). Some newspapers have editorial independence from their owners, while others do not.