Since its founding in 1919, the daily news has occupied a unique position in America’s largest city. Giving a voice to the voiceless and afflicting the comfortable, it has cast its wary gaze across all five boroughs into a new millennium. Along the way it has claimed 11 Pulitzer Prizes and nurtured a cadre of journalistic giants, including Pete Hamill, Jimmy Breslin, E.R. Shipp, Juan Gonzalez, Earl Caldwell and Mike McAlary.
Although it had a smaller circulation than its rival tabloid, the New York Post, the Daily News found a niche on the subways, where commuters could easily handle and read the paper’s smaller size and format. Its scandalous and titillating stories, reader contests and cartoon strips also helped the tabloid become a household name.
By the time the Roaring Twenties were over, the Daily News had become the nation’s biggest newspaper. However, by the end of the decade its fortunes began to wane. In 1978, a multi-union strike hit the paper hard, and by 1980 its circulation was down to around half of its pre-strike peak.
The Tribune Company, which owned the Daily News at the time, was looking to cut costs and in 1980 put it up for sale. But the company was facing a number of labor issues, and closing it down would have cost more than $100 million in severance pay and pensions. Instead, the newspaper agreed to sell itself for $36 million to Mort Zuckerman, owner of The Atlantic and founder of USA Today, who was also in the process of buying Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
In 1993, Zuckerman made big changes to the Daily News in an effort to rediscover its earning potential. He invested $60 million in color presses, allowing the Daily News to compete with its more mainstream competitors. It was at this time that the Daily News became one of the first newspapers in the world to publish a daily comic strip.
By 1995, with a new printing plant in New Jersey and a shift to single-floor offices in Manhattan West, the Daily News left its home of 65 years, the News Building at 450 West 33rd Street, an architectural landmark designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood. It subsequently moved its operations to the current world headquarters at 5 Manhattan West.
By the turn of the 21st century, the Daily News continued to be a powerhouse among the city’s printed media, despite having its circulation decline from its mid-20th century peak. The paper’s feisty and provocative tone made it a top choice for many readers, especially when it was able to give the city’s politicians, such as Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the middle finger via the Statue of Liberty’s hand. It was at this point that the Daily News gained national recognition as a “serious tabloid.” The Daily News was still competing with its rival, the New York Post, but was also winning a loyal following among African American and Hispanic readers.