Founded in 1919 as the Illustrated Daily News by Joseph Medill Patterson, the New York City-based Daily News quickly became one of the United States’ first successful tabloid newspapers, drawing millions of readers with sensational coverage of crime, scandal, and violence, lurid photographs, and cartoons. The News was an early user of the Associated Press wirephoto service, and developed a staff of photographers. The newspaper also published a wide variety of political and social intrigue, such as the scandal surrounding Wallis Simpson’s romance with King Edward VIII.
The Daily News was a staunchly Republican publication until the 1970s, when it began to take a more centrist stance, adopting a slogan that would later be used for its television station, WPIX: “The Eyes, the Ears, the Honest Voice of New York City.” In 1976, after President Gerald Ford had delivered a speech vetoing a bankruptcy bail-out for New York City, the front page headline read: “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD!” The Daily News was widely credited with contributing to Ford’s eventual loss to Jimmy Carter.
In 1978, the New York Times reported that the Daily News was in trouble. Circulation had declined by 145,000 from a year earlier, and the newspaper was losing money. The Times noted that the decline in readership was partially caused by a labor strike that had affected all of the city’s major newspapers, but the Daily News lost more readers than any other.
By the 1990s, under new editors-in-chief Pete Hamill and Debby Krenek, the Daily News had reclaimed its reputation for protecting the First Amendment rights of all New Yorkers, particularly those who were most marginalized in society. The paper’s writers and artists went on to win Pulitzer Prizes for their pieces about race, welfare, and police brutality.
Today the Daily News is distributed to a large swath of the Northeastern United States and has offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The News’ website is a source of breaking news and features in addition to its traditional print editions. In addition, the newspaper has a number of popular online blogs and comment sections that attract millions of visitors each month.
Each Daily News article contains comprehension and critical thinking questions that can be found below the articles. These questions are designed to help students better understand the news story and develop their writing skills. Additionally, each article includes “Background” and “Resources” (including video clips and maps) below the questions to give students a more comprehensive understanding of the story.