Founded by Joseph Medill Patterson and later a subsidiary of the Tribune Company of Chicago, the Daily News attracted readers with sensational coverage of crime and scandal, lurid photographs and cartoons. In the Roaring Twenties it became the first successful tabloid newspaper in the United States. It was not long before the New York Daily News eclipsed all its rivals in circulation, becoming one of the largest newspapers in the world.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the paper was able to re-establish itself among the city’s most-read publications, partly by harking back to its roots: using provocative language and imagery, and focusing on titillating stories and reader contests. The Daily News also built up a reputation for tackling social issues, and won Pulitzer Prizes in 1996 for E.R. Shipp’s articles on welfare and race and in 1998 for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Abner Louima.
But the resurgence was short-lived. In 2017, the New York Daily News’s circulation dipped below half a million for the first time in its history, and in September that year, it was announced that the newspaper had been sold to Tronc (which subsequently rebranded as “Tronc”), the Chicago-based media company which had once owned the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Tronc agreed to pay just $1 and assumed all of the Daily News’s liabilities.
Our Daily Current Affairs for UPSC analysis focuses on all the important aspects of daily news that are essential from exam perspective. This helps aspirants understand the news better and enables them to retain it for their UPSC Prelims, Mains and Interview. Moreover, it gives an edge to even repeaters by transforming news reading into a valuable skill.
Each article is followed by a series of comprehension and critical thinking questions, designed to test the aspirant’s understanding of the news story. “Background” and “Resources” (including video clips, maps and links) are provided below the questions to further enhance the reader’s experience. Upon completion of all the questions, a free daily email is sent with answers.
In 1923, with circulation approaching 1.5 million, the Daily News moved from Park Place to 220 East 42nd Street, a 36-story Art Deco building designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood that would become the model for the Daily Planet building in the Superman films. It remained the newspaper’s headquarters until 1995, when it moved to a single-floor office at 5 Manhattan West. The 42nd Street building was preserved as a landmark and now houses the NBC Studios. The Daily News’s printing was later transferred to a plant in New Jersey.