The New York Daily News Could Be Outsourced
In its 20th century heyday, the New York Daily News was a brawny metro tabloid that thrived when it dug into crime and corruption. It drew readers with sensational coverage and lurid photographs, inspired the “Daily Planet” of the first two Superman films, and won Pulitzer Prizes for commentary and reporting. The newspaper is now struggling under the control of the hedge fund that bought it last year, Alden Capital, which has enacted buyouts and cuts in a bid to cut costs. The New York Times has reported that the paper is in a race to outsource its printing operations, potentially slashing jobs and creating more layoffs.
Despite its struggles, the Daily News remains one of the most widely read newspapers in the country, with a weekday circulation of nearly 24.3 million and a Sunday circulation of almost 25.8 million, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. While the number of print copies has decreased, digital readership has increased — and that is where the future of newspapers lies, experts say.
The Yale Daily News, published Monday through Friday during the academic year at Yale University, is the oldest college newspaper in the United States and has a long legacy of student editors and writers who have gone on to prominent careers in journalism and public service. In its early days, the News was a Republican paper that supported isolationism during World War II, but has since shifted its editorial stance to become more centrist. The News is the most-read newspaper in New York City, and has a wide range of readers in other cities, including people who have never read a printed copy.
The New York Times reports that the hedge fund that owns the Daily News is looking to outsource its printing plant, which could result in more layoffs at the newspaper. The Daily News has already shed dozens of staff members, and the owners of the Tribune Publishing chain have asked employees to take voluntary buyouts in order to cut costs. In a letter to staff, the owner of the Daily News warned that if it does not make a profit by summer 2020, it will be shut down.
Hedge fund Alden Global Capital owns the Daily News and other publications in the Tribune Publishing chain, including the Chicago Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and others. The Daily News was a flagship of the chain, and it once boasted the highest weekday and Sunday circulation in the nation. The News was founded in 1919 as the Illustrated Daily News by Joseph Medill Patterson, and it became the first successful tabloid newspaper in the United States. The Daily News quickly established itself as a leader in investigative journalism and attracted readers with its sensational coverage of crime, scandal and violence, celebrity interviews, cartoons and other entertainment features. The Daily News is known for its bold style and for being the first tabloid newspaper to win a Pulitzer Prize.