Founded in 1919, the Daily News considers itself “New York’s hometown newspaper,” informing everyday New Yorkers about their city and more. The paper has a reputation for zesty headlines (perhaps best known as “Ford to City: Drop Dead” during the city’s financial woes in 1975), gossip, intense city coverage and star columnists such as Jimmy Breslin, Liz Smith and Pete Hamill. The News has won a number of Pulitzer Prizes, including one shared with ProPublica in 2020 for uncovering how authorities used an obscure law to evict residents from their homes.
In the early 21st century, the Daily News continued to be a leading news source in New York City, though its circulation declined significantly from its mid-20th-century peak. It maintained a network of local offices across the five boroughs, including in each of the city’s major neighborhoods and within one police plaza. The News at one time owned television station WPIX, which still operates out of the former Daily News Building; and radio stations such as WMCA and WFAN, which are now operated by CBS Radio.
The newspaper’s headquarters were located at 220 East 42nd Street near Second Avenue, an official city and national landmark designed by Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells, which was built in 1929. The building was the inspiration for the Daily Planet in the Superman franchise, and it became known as the “world’s tallest newspaper office.”
Over the years, the Daily News has been plagued by labor issues, with its unions pressuring it to meet their demands of wages, hours and working conditions. The Daily News also suffered financially as readers shifted away from print and toward online news.
After losing millions of dollars in the 1980s, its parent company, the Tribune Company, put the tabloid up for sale. But the sale was abandoned when it was determined that closing the newspaper would be too costly because of severance pay and pension obligations for its employees.
In 2017, as the Daily News’ circulation dipped further, it was sold to Tronc, the media company that evolved from Daily News founder Tribune Co. Under the terms of the deal, Chicago-based Tronc assumed the Daily News’ operational and pension liabilities in exchange for a controlling stake in the newspaper.
Each day, the Daily News publishes articles that are curated and verified by a team of reporters and editors. These articles are then translated into English by a staff of nearly 300 editorial translators, who translate in the spirit and voice of the original news article. The News’ editorial team is dedicated to ensuring that its journalism continues to inform, inspire and engage the New York community.
The Daily News’s website contains a variety of resources for students and teachers. The website includes comprehension and critical thinking questions, as well as background and other relevant information for each story. Students can use the questions and other information to help them understand the article and develop their own opinion on the topic. The Daily News also features video clips and other multimedia content to help support the article.