Daily News is a newspaper founded in 1919 and based in New York City. It is known for its sensational and titillating news stories and photographs, and also features celebrity gossip, sports news, and other local news. It was the first successful tabloid and, at one time, had the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the world. It was also the first newspaper to use a color printing press. The News was owned for many years by the Tribune Company until it was sold in 1991 to controversial British media mogul Robert Maxwell.
Despite a steady decline in circulation, the News remains a well-known and respected name among local media outlets. It continues to feature large and prominent photographs for its news stories, a tradition begun in 1923 with a photograph of a fire that killed more than 100 people.
The newspaper has won several awards for its journalism, including the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. In addition, it has won numerous Emmy awards for its television and radio programs. It was also the first newspaper to use color printing in 1948 and has won multiple awards for its graphics. The News is also home to the radio station WPIX, which has its call letters derived from its nickname of “New York’s Picture Newspaper.” Its TV and radio properties are all located in its old Daily News Building on Park Place in Manhattan.
In the 1920s, the News grew its readership and profits thanks to its sensational pictorial coverage of crime and scandal, as well as its more titillating and risqué news stories. The paper was also an early adopter of the Associated Press wirephoto service and developed a staff of photographers. It was also an early proponent of women’s rights and a strong advocate for civil rights, and it ran cartoons and other entertainment features.
By the end of the 1920s, the News had a circulation of more than 1.5 million and employed dozens of photographers. Its success allowed it to commission a 36-story freestanding Art Deco structure to serve as its headquarters, which became known as the News Building. This structure would later be used as the inspiration for the Daily Planet building in the Superman franchise.
In the mid-1990s, the News experienced a resurgence in popularity and notoriety when it began publishing BET Weekend, a quarterly (later monthly) insert for African American readers. It also launched its website, and by the turn of the century had recovered to be a profitable newspaper. However, in 2017 the News suffered a significant drop in circulation and was ultimately sold to Tronc for a mere $1. The company quickly fired a large number of employees, and editor-in-chief Jim Rich was one of the first to go. The renamed Daily News is still publishing today, although its circulation has dipped below 800,000 copies per day, significantly less than its peak in the 1940s.