The Daily News is an American morning tabloid newspaper founded in 1919 as the New York Daily News, the first tabloid of its kind to reach a significant level of success. Its founder, Joseph Medill Patterson, had previously been publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The New York Daily News aimed to appeal to the masses with sensational coverage of crime and scandal, lurid photographs, and comics. At its peak in 1947, it had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States.
The New York Daily News also built a strong reputation in the 1970s for its strong coverage of social issues. This included a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning pieces by E.R Shipp and Mike McAlary that covered police brutality against African-Americans in New York City. The paper also became known for its strong stance on First Amendment rights and a pro-immigrant stance. In the late 1990s, under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Pete Hamill and later Debby Krenek, the paper continued to move toward a more liberal political stance. In the early 21st century, however, it was hit hard by declining print sales and competition from other online and digital outlets. In 2017, the New York Daily News saw its circulation drop to less than half of what it had been in previous years.
Despite these challenges, the News has continued to publish and is one of the most widely read newspapers in the country. In 2021, an anonymous Yale alumnus made a generous donation to the News that will support its ongoing operation and facilitated the migration of the paper’s Historical Archive to a more user-friendly platform.
This archive contains thousands of pages spanning several decades, including every New York Daily News issue published between 1996 and 2021. All articles are available for free and may be used by anyone with a browser and an internet connection. This site is not intended for commercial use or redistribution of articles.
Each article is accompanied by comprehension and critical thinking questions which teachers can find under the “Background” and “Resources” sections below each article. These questions provide students with an opportunity to further explore the topic, develop their knowledge and understanding, and make connections to other topics, issues, and events.
Each daily news story also includes a short list of related articles, websites and videos. This list is designed to give teachers, students and parents further options to explore in the areas of the article they are reading. This is a great way to increase student engagement and help them dig deeper into the story they are hearing about each day.