Founded in 1919, Daily News is the most popular newspaper in New York City. Known for bold journalism, commitment to New York City, engaging storytelling and strong visual content, Daily News offers breaking news, in-depth investigations, politics, sports, celebrity gossip, entertainment and opinion. The paper has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes.
A morning tabloid, Daily News covers national and local news, intense NYC city news coverage, politics, sports and more. It is a must-read for all New Yorkers and fans of the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Jets. The News also has top writers, columnists and commentators who provide analysis and insight.
Originally known as the Illustrated Daily News, it was launched in 1919. It quickly became one of the most successful tabloids in America. The News attracted readers with sensational crime and scandal coverage, lurid photographs, and cartoons. It was an early adopter of the Associated Press wirephoto service and developed a large staff of photographers.
As the News expanded, it moved its headquarters from Park Place to 220 East 42nd Street in 1936. Its distinctive 36-story Art Deco News Building was designed by Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells, who had previously built Chicago’s Tribune Tower a few years earlier. The News Building was later used as the inspiration for Superman’s Daily Planet in the film franchise of the same name.
In the 1960s, Daily News editor and publisher Joseph Medill Patterson began to change the newspaper’s focus. During this time, the News adopted the slogan “The Eyes, the Ears, The Honest Voice of New York.” The News was the first to identify the role of urban sprawl in New York’s declining economy. It also pioneered in-depth city investigations and a new approach to crime reporting.
At the turn of the 20th century, Daily News circulation was more than 1.5 million. It was a leader among the nation’s daily newspapers and its sensational headlines, including those about violent crimes committed by black youths in Harlem, were often used as model for the tabloid genre. The News was also an early advocate for racial integration and established its first television station in 1948, which acquired the call letters WPIX.
By 1990, the News was losing money, largely due to its labor costs. In the autumn of that year, its ten unions—including the Allied Printing Trades Council—voted to strike. The News was able to continue publishing by hiring nonunion replacements, but it took a $70 million loss that year alone. The News’ long-term problems were intensified by the fact that its parent company, the Tribune Company, had taken steps to break its ties with the newspaper’s labor unions. This ultimately prompted a sale of the Daily News to Mort Zuckerman in January 1993 for less than half what Conrad Black had offered. The News would remain under the ownership of Zuckerman until it was purchased by Tribune Publishing in 2021.