The Yale Daily News, founded in 1878, is the nation’s oldest college daily newspaper. The paper publishes every weekday while classes are in session and covers campus, New Haven, and the greater Yale community. The News also publishes several special issues each year, including the Yale-Harvard game day issue, the Commencement issue and the First Year Issue. Additionally, the News has published special issues celebrating Yale’s Indigenous, Black, Latinx and Asian American communities. Many of the News’ student editors, writers and contributors have gone on to prominent careers in journalism and public life.
The Daily News’s editorial stance has historically been “flexibly centrist,” with a high-minded, if populist, legacy. In the 1930s it espoused isolationism; during World War II it supported liberalism, largely to counter its conservative rival, the New York Post. From the 1980s on, it has emphasized social and economic issues, with a strong emphasis on local coverage.
As the Daily News’s circulation has dropped, its editorial staff has dwindled, and it is no longer a dominant force in New York politics. Its current owner, the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, has imposed buyouts and cost cuts since it took control in 2016. In an era of fast-paced change, the Daily News faces a struggle to survive.
A vivid, poignant look at the demise of a local newspaper and its impact on a community, Death of the Daily News is a timely reminder that good journalism remains a vital part of democracy. A deep and perceptive study, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of journalism and media, as well as anyone concerned about the future of local news.
With its sensational coverage of crime, scandal and violence, lurid photographs and a range of entertainment features, the New York Daily News was one of America’s first successful tabloid newspapers. It was once the largest newspaper in the world, and its success spawned a national wave of similar publications.
In this book, Andrew Conte takes us through the stages of grief and loss that befell the citizens of McKeesport, Pennsylvania when their local newspaper closed its doors in 2015. The outcome of this case is not unique: versions of this story are playing out across the country as ‘news deserts’ proliferate. Conte tells it with clarity and empathy, even as he sounds the alarm.
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