The Daily News is a New York City morning tabloid newspaper founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson. It was the first successful tabloid in the United States and quickly became one of the most popular newspapers in the country. Its success was largely due to its sensational pictorial coverage and an ability to break big stories that other papers were not willing to risk. In the 1920s, the News covered political wrongdoing such as the Teapot Dome scandal and social intrigue such as the romance between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII that led to her abdication. The News also focused heavily on titillating and sexy photos, reader contests and cartoon strips to draw in the public.
By the 1970s, the paper had begun to shift its political leanings away from a staunch Republican posture towards a more centrist position. The change was most pronounced in 1975 when the Daily News ran what is considered to be its most famous headline to date, “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD”. This was in reference to President Gerald Ford’s speech vetoing the bankruptcy bailout for New York City. The speech was a major factor in the 1976 presidential election, which Carter won over Ford.
In 1978, the News suffered a serious setback when its employees went on strike. The multi-union strike lasted for over three months and was extremely costly to the company. The strike resulted in a loss of 145,000 daily subscribers. The newspaper recovered from this setback, and in the late 1990s, under editor-in-chief Pete Hamill and later Debby Krenek, the News gained a reputation for defending First Amendment rights and fighting for the rights of the people of New York City. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary in 1996 for E.R. Shipp’s pieces on the welfare system and race, as well as for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.
Each Daily News article contains comprehension and critical thinking questions, found below the articles. In addition, the Daily News provides additional resources (video clips, maps and links) to help readers better understand each story.
Educators can sign up for a free teacher account to receive daily news stories and resources for classroom use. In addition, teachers can create custom groups to share Daily News stories with students and other educators.
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The Yale Daily News Historical Archive provides access to digitized versions of printed issues of the Yale Daily News, the oldest college newspaper in the United States. The archive includes a searchable full-text database of more than 140 years of YDN reporting, as well as a PDF catalog of every issue published since 1878. This collection is provided by the Yale University Library. Permission to reproduce material from the archive must be obtained from the YDN Rights and Permissions site.