The Daily News was once one of the largest and most influential tabloid newspapers in America. Founded in 1919, the Daily News attracted readers with sensational coverage of crime and scandal, lurid photographs, and cartoons and other entertainment features. The newspaper also emphasized investigative journalism and served as an early advocate of the Associated Press wirephoto service. The News’s headquarters at 450 West 33rd Street, which later became the world headquarters of the Associated Press, straddled the railroad tracks that led into Pennsylvania Station. The News is credited with helping to introduce a wide range of innovations in the printing industry, including using heliography, a process that produced high-quality photographs, in its own publication in 1932.
In addition to its city news coverage, the paper was known for focusing on political wrongdoing and social intrigue (such as the romance between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, which led to his abdication). The News published several special issues commemorating notable events and figures, such as the centennial of the New York City Police Department and the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The newspaper remained a dominant force in the newspaper industry for much of its history, rivaling its more traditional competitors, the New York Post and the New York Times, until the mid-20th century when the Daily News began to decline in circulation.
As digital media has transformed the landscape of American publishing, local newspapers have closed at a rapid pace. This has left many communities, like McKeesport in southwestern Pennsylvania, with no local news source. In Death of the Daily News, Andrew Conte follows a town in mourning as its newspaper disappears and demonstrates how the loss of local news has profoundly impacted the lives of residents.
For over 130 years, the Yale Daily News has been the primary source of news and debate at Yale. Published Monday through Friday when school is in session, the News is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. It has been home to a number of prominent writers, journalists and public figures, including William F. Buckley, John Hersey, Lan Samantha Chang, Joseph Lieberman, Sargent Shriver and Strobe Talbott. It has a reputation for being highly critical of the University administration and its political leanings, and its editorial board has included such well-known personalities as Richard Nixon and Paul Krugman. The News is financially and editorially independent of the Yale administration. This website features digitized versions of the Yale Daily News for over 140 years. The digitized editions are available for browsing or downloading. They contain the full text of articles and a variety of other rich content, such as photographs, classified ads, and a comprehensive archive of YDN’s newsroom history. Reproduction of the material presented on this website is prohibited without written permission from the YDN. For information about obtaining permission, please visit the YDN Rights and Permissions site. The YDN Historical Archive is also available for purchase as an individual volume.