Founded in 1919, the New York Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that is printed in New York City. The paper is famous for its photography and terse, eye-catching headlines and has won several Pulitzer Prizes. It is a long-time rival to its competitor, the New York Post. The Daily News is also known for its long-standing feud with New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and for a notorious 1975 front-page screamer, “Ford to City: Drop Dead!”
The newspaper is the most widely circulated in New York State. In the 21st century, the Daily News focuses on neighborhood-specific reporting and has a diversified staff. The paper’s editorial stance is described as “flexibly centrist” with a high-minded, populist legacy. It has a history of supporting isolationism, though in the 1940s it began to shift its stance and adopted a more liberal view than the conservative Post.
In 1995, the Daily News won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service along with ProPublica for uncovering police abuse of eviction rules in New York City. The Daily News also has a long tradition of covering local politics and corruption in New York City, including the scandals surrounding Governor Eliot Spitzer.
In the early 1990s, the Daily News was almost put out of business during a newspaper strike. It was saved by a millionaire, Robert Maxwell, who loaned the newspaper money to keep it in business. However, he died soon after and the newspaper went into bankruptcy. New York real estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman bought the paper and kept it in business, rescuing the Daily News from its second bankruptcy in 1993.
The News at one time maintained local bureaus in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. It shared offices at City Hall and within One Police Plaza with other news agencies. It also printed a Sunday edition called the Daily News Sunday News.
After the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, the Daily News displayed the front-page headline “GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS!” in response to Republican politicians who offered “thoughts and prayers.” The paper has since advocated for stricter gun laws.
The New York Daily News is the model for the fictional Daily Planet of the Superman movies, with its News Building standing in for the Daily Planet’s headquarters. The newspaper also owns a television station, WPIX (Channel 11 in New York City), and a radio station that shares its call letters and broadcasts from the same building. The News is currently owned by Tribune Publishing, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021. The News’s executive editor, Andrew Julien, and general manager Michael Gates have announced that the newspaper will shift its coverage priorities to focus on issues impacting New York City. This includes deep sourcing and doorstep reporting. It is hoped that the move will reverse the gloomy narrative of declining American journalism.