The Daily News is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1919 as the Illustrated Daily News by Joseph Medill Patterson. It became the first successful tabloid in the United States and, at its peak, had one of the largest circulations of any paper in the country. The News specialized in sensational coverage of crime, scandal, and violence in New York City and attracted readers with lurid photographs and entertainment features. Its editorial stance, which had been strongly Republican until the 1940s when it shifted to a conservative populist position, rivaled that of its competitor, the New York Post.
The News was a pioneer in many ways, including the use of photographs to make its stories more dramatic. The paper was also an early user of wirephoto and established a staff of photographers to cover breaking events. In 1928, a News reporter strapped a camera to his leg and snapped the first photo of Ruth Snyder, the only woman ever electrocuted in the United States.
Today, the News covers a wide range of topics including city news, celebrity gossip and classified ads, sports coverage, and an opinion section. The paper also maintains local bureaus in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. It owns a television station, WPIX-TV (Channel 11 in New York), whose call letters are derived from the newspaper’s nickname of “New York’s Picture Newspaper.” The News also operates the radio station WFAN.
While anyone may submit a column, it is preferred that submissions come from members of the Yale-New Haven community. In order to be published, columns must make a defensible argument supported by credible evidence, and the topic must address issues that affect the community. The News reserves the right to edit and publish submissions.
The News is currently owned by Tronc, which bought the newspaper in 2017. The Daily News’s headquarters was at 220 East 42nd Street, an office building designed by architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood that resembled the planet Krypton in Superman movies. It is now known as Manhattan West and houses a branch of the Associated Press.