How the Daily News Survives in a Digital Age
The Daily News is a morning tabloid newspaper published in New York City. It has won eleven Pulitzer Prizes, but its mission is still to cover life in New York. A lot has changed in the last century. However, the Daily News is still one of the nation’s best-selling newspapers. In fact, its circulation grew to 200,000 by 2016, after falling to a low of a little over half a million in the late 1990s.
The Daily News is a great example of the paper juggernaut, but it is not the only game in town. Andrew Conte’s book, Death of the Daily News: One Town, Three Newspapers, and the Struggle for America’s News Media, examines the consequences of a small town losing its local paper. Although the story is fictional, it offers important lessons on how the media industry can survive in a digital age.
Founded in 1919, the New York Daily News was the first tabloid newspaper in the U.S. Its early focus was on social intrigue and political wrongdoing. By the 1920s, the paper had a readership of 1.5 million. At its peak, the paper had a circulation of 2.4 million copies a day.
Since the late 1970s, the Daily News has been slowly shifting from a staunchly Republican to a more moderate, liberal stance. In the 1970s, the Daily News espoused the “populist” cause, while the paper’s editorial position was described by the New York Times as “high-minded” and “flexibly centrist.” Eventually, the Daily News was acquired by Chicago-based media conglomerate Tronc. Upon Tronc’s purchase, it agreed to assume all of the paper’s liabilities. This deal paved the way for the company’s acquisition of WPIX-TV and radio, which remain in The News Building today.
In the late 1990s, technology threatened to destroy the Daily News, but the paper continued to survive. Its interactive edition is available on mobile devices, and it is the most convenient way to read the newspaper. Users can swipe between pages, share stories via email, and download editions for offline reading. They can also share their own stories on the Daily News website.
In addition to the interactive edition, the Daily News also has a web app that allows users to share stories and interact with others. The interactive version of the Daily News also includes the latest digital tools to help readers navigate the digital world. Using these tools, readers can get more out of their daily commute. With a few clicks, they can send emails with photos to friends and colleagues, and they can even share their own articles and videos with the Daily News community.
As the newspaper industry continues to struggle, it is good to know that a new type of local journalism is still being built. As the author of Death of the Daily News points out, the Internet has not only disrupted the news business, but it has opened the doors for citizens to learn more about their communities.