The Yale Daily News is a student newspaper published each day during the academic year when the University is in session. It is the oldest daily college newspaper in the United States and has a long history of influencing public debate and discourse. Many of its editors, writers and contributors have gone on to distinguished careers in journalism and public life, including William F. Buckley, Lan Samantha Chang, John Hersey, Joseph Lieberman, Sargent Shriver, Paul Steiger, Strobe Talbott and Calvin Trillin.
The Daily News was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson, a publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The paper quickly established itself as a tabloid sensation, with its larger headlines and photographs and emphasis on more scandalous and titillating stories. It also embraced a more aggressive editorial stance, which it has retained throughout its history.
In the 1940s, the Daily News was one of America’s most popular newspapers, and its brassy pictorial style and frequent front page coverage of city politics and events made it a cultural touchstone in the nation. It was also an early user of the Associated Press wirephoto service, and the News employed a large staff of photographers. Its World War II coverage was exemplary, and Time magazine observed that “the New York Daily News is unrivaled as a picture newspaper.”
By the early 21st century, however, the Daily News had fallen behind its rival, the New York Post, and circulation had dipped significantly from its mid-20th-century peak. In 1991, controversial British media mogul Robert Maxwell purchased the Daily News and its rival, the Daily Mirror, from the Tribune Company. He renegotiated contracts with the News’s unions and steered the paper back toward profitability, but its reputation for sensationalism had diminished.
In 2017 circulation dipped further and the paper was sold to Tronc, the parent company of the Chicago Tribune, for the sum of just one dollar. The newspaper reverted to its original name of the New York Daily News, and a cull of nearly half its editorial staff followed.
Today, the Daily News covers the world’s most compelling and exciting news stories, with a particular focus on New York. Its award-winning reporters, columnists and opinion formers deliver breaking national and local news from the most enthralling city on Earth. The News also covers the Yankees, Mets and Giants and delivers unparalleled coverage of city politics. Its writers are the eyes, ears and honest voice of New York and its people.