The Yale Daily News is published every weekday while the University is in session and is one of the oldest college daily newspapers in the United States. The newspaper has a rich history of launching many prominent careers in journalism and public life. Its writers and editors have included William F. Buckley, Lan Samantha Chang, Joseph Lieberman, Strobe Talbott, Garry Trudeau, and others.
The paper, which originally was named the Illustrated Daily News and later the New York Daily News, is the first to be widely successful as a tabloid. Its sensational crime, scandal, and violence coverage drew readers in droves. The newspaper also offered celebrity gossip, classified ads, and comics. In addition, it featured a sports section and an opinion page.
For a brief time, the Daily News was arguably the nation’s most popular newspaper. The newspaper’s circulation topped 2 million in the early 20th century, but it had been dropping since its peak by the 1970s. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal accounted for most of the rest of the national newspaper market, with the remaining shares split among a number of smaller regional publications.
Despite the waning popularity of print media, a few major daily newspapers continue to publish in the United States. However, their combined print and digital circulation has continued to decline in recent years. The figure below reflects the total weekday and Sunday print circulation of U.S. daily newspapers as reported to the trade group formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America (now called the News Media Alliance). The figures exclude digital subscriptions that are not counted by AAM and which may not be publicly disclosed.
The rapid-fire changes underway at the New York Daily News and other newspapers owned by Tribune Publishing, which has been taken over by cost-slashing hedge fund Alden Global Capital, have created a profound case of the jitters in those newsrooms. The Daily News and its sister publication, the Chicago Tribune, have announced a series of buyouts and layoffs that are expected to save the company money. The company has also begun outsourcing its printing plant. These moves are a clear sign that the era of big daily newspapers is coming to an end.