Founded in 1919, the New York Daily News was the first successful tabloid newspaper in the United States. The paper attracted readers with sensational crime and scandal coverage, lurid photographs and cartoons. Its owner, Mort Zuckerman, was an aggressive expansionist who built the paper into a national powerhouse. The Daily News was also the largest circulation newspaper in New York City until it was surpassed by the competing News Corp-owned New York Post in the early 21st century.
As newspapers around the country struggled in the wake of the rise of online media, the Daily News suffered a significant decline in print circulation and advertising revenue. It has continued to decline in recent years as readers have shifted their news consumption from print to digital platforms.
In 2017, the Daily News reached its lowest point in circulation to date, with just over half a million subscribers. The newspaper was on the verge of bankruptcy when it was purchased for one dollar by Tronc, a Chicago-based company that owns other major newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Tronc pledged to continue running the Daily News and preserving its legacy of journalism.
During its heyday in the mid-20th century, the Daily News was an innovator, embracing technology and establishing itself as a leader in the field of urban journalism. It was an early user of the Associated Press wire photo service, and its pictorial style earned it the reputation as “the brassy, picture-dominated tabloid that led all others”.
The resurgence in popularity of the New York Daily News during the Trump era offered the newspaper an opportunity to reclaim its status as a leader among urban dailies, but the newspaper has struggled to recover its readership numbers. In 2016, its circulation declined to below half a million subscribers for the first time in more than a century, as it lost market share to competitors both online and off.
In an effort to reclaim its status, the Daily News began to experiment with a more provocative style and tone. It reintroduced the “Daily Dish” section, which ran a series of tabloid-style gossip and celebrity pieces, as well as a new opinion column titled “The Truth” by David Carr. The paper also launched a new website, redesigned its building in Jersey City and introduced a new editorial staff.
This collection contains the front pages of hundreds of newspapers from across the U.S and many nations around the world. The front page archives are updated daily to capture a snapshot of global journalism in motion.
Each day’s collection contains the Daily News Article, Comprehension and Critical Thinking Questions, and additional resources (including videos and maps) to help students understand each story. Educators are encouraged to download the articles and use them in their classrooms.