Founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the Illustrated Daily News, the newspaper was the first successful tabloid. The paper drew readers with sensational coverage of crime, scandal and violence, as well as lurid photographs and cartoons. It was at its height during the Roaring Twenties, when it reached over a million readers every day.
At the turn of the 21st century, the News remained one of the nation’s top-selling newspapers. It struggled to compete with its much more sensational rival, the New York Post (which once topped the News in circulation), and the less-sensational but better-staffed New York Times, which was growing rapidly at the time.
In the early 1990s, the News began to focus on local news and politics and was one of the few large newspapers to maintain a substantial presence in all five New York City boroughs. The News was also the first major American newspaper to adopt a fully electronic publishing system. The News won a Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 1996, for E.R. Shipp’s pieces on race, welfare and social issues, and again in 1998 for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Abner Louima.
By the late 1990s, the Daily News was a leading New York City source for news and commentary on local, national and international political events, including coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition to a daily print edition, the paper has a number of popular websites and an interactive television channel.
The Daily News is a member of the New York Newspaper Guild and The Press Association of America. The paper is a subsidiary of the Tribune Company.
As part of its local focus, the Daily News maintains several city offices in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, including a headquarters building in downtown New York City known as the Daily News Building with a large globe in its lobby. The News also operates a cable news service, the DailyNewsLive, as well as the radio station WFAN in the New York City area.
The New York Daily News is known for its investigative reporting, particularly in cases involving city government and public corruption. The News has also been a strong advocate for civil rights, feminism and LGBT rights. In the past, the News has supported many candidates for public office and has endorsed ballot measure issues.