Founded in 1878, Daily News is the nation’s oldest college daily newspaper. It is editorially and financially independent from the University, and its staff includes students, alumni and faculty members. The News publishes Monday through Friday during the academic year. The paper also produces special issues including the Yale-Harvard game day issue, Commencement issue and First Year Issue. In addition, the News publishes several special issues celebrating Yale’s Indigenous, Black, AAPI and Latinx communities in collaboration with those groups.
Known as the borough’s most popular tabloid, Daily News once boasted the world’s highest circulation when it reached a peak in 1947 of 2.4 million copies. Initially called the Illustrated Daily News, it was one of the first successful tabloids to be published in America and appealed to readers with sensational stories of crime and scandal, lurid photographs, and cartoons.
From its inception, the News fought a fierce rivalry with its even more sensational competitor, the New York Post. The two publications were often locked in a battle for the city’s attention and both enjoyed high levels of readership, but the News was more aggressive and sensational in its coverage and aimed to be “New York’s picture newspaper.”
The Daily News is still read today by New York residents who enjoy the intense local city news, celebrity gossip, classified ads, comics, and sports sections. It also maintains bureaus in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, at City Hall, within One Police Plaza, and at various state and federal courthouses. Its flagship building at 220 East 42nd Street, designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood and formerly known as the News Building, remains a New York landmark and was used as the Daily Planet building in Superman movies. The News also established and owned WPIX-TV (Channel 11) in 1948 and still owns the former Daily News radio station, now known as WFAN-FM, which operates from its Manhattan West headquarters.
The Daily News is now the largest publisher of local news in the United States and has a large online presence. The paper’s website features breaking news, in-depth community and expert interviews, and interactive maps and charts. In addition, it has the most comprehensive weather information in the region.