The first Daily News issue was published on June 26, 1919. The pioneering tabloid dominated New York city’s newspaper industry for much of the 20th century, with circulation in the millions and a reputation for fearlessness in pursuing controversial stories. The Daily News reached its peak in the 1950s, when it was one of the largest metropolitan daily newspapers in the country.
In the late 1990s under new editors-in-chief, first Pete Hamill and then Debby Krenek, the Daily News earned a new reputation as a staunch defender of the First Amendment, and its writers won Pulitzer Prizes in 1996 for E.R. Shipp’s articles on racial and social injustice, and in 1998 for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. The newspaper also won praise for its strong local news and sports coverage, as well as a reputation for editorial integrity.
However, the Daily News was losing money and readers. In March 1991 the Tribune Company put the Daily News up for sale, and British media mogul Robert Maxwell bought it. He tried to cut costs by negotiating with the newspaper’s ten unions, but the result was a 147-day strike. The Daily News continued to publish during the strike, using non-union replacement workers, but it suffered a $115 million loss for the year.
In September 1993 Mortimer Zuckerman and Fred Drasner purchased the Daily News for $60 million, intending to restore it to profitability. Zuckerman made several big changes, including investing $60 million in color presses that would allow the newspaper to match the quality of USA Today.
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