Founded in 1919, Daily News was the first successful tabloid newspaper in the United States. It gained a large following on New York’s subway system, where commuters found its smaller size easier to handle than the larger pages of more traditional newspapers. The paper also attracted readers with its sensational pictorial coverage of crime and scandal, lurid photographs, and cartoons. By the middle of the Roaring Twenties the newspaper had reached a circulation of one million, putting it well ahead of its rivals.
The Daily News’ success was helped in the 1920s by the widespread availability of inexpensive photographic printing equipment. It was an early adopter of the Associated Press wirephoto service and hired a staff of photographers, making it a leader in photographic coverage. The paper also focused on political wrongdoing, such as the Teapot Dome Scandal, and social intrigue, including the romance between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII that led to his abdication.
In 1947, the Daily News reached its highest circulation of 2.4 million copies a day, making it the largest newspaper in the country at that time. Its brassy, pictorial style set it apart from other newspapers, earning it the nickname “The Brassy Daily News” and the slogans “The Eyes, the Ears, the Honest Voice of New York.”
By the late 1990s, the newspaper was still publishing daily (although its circulation had dropped to just over a million by that point). Under new editors-in-chief (first Pete Hamill, then Debby Krenek), the paper had developed a reputation for defending the rights of New Yorkers, especially those who were poor or minority. It won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1996 for Ed Shipp’s pieces on race, welfare and social issues and again in 1998 for Mike McAlary’s coverage of police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.
Weekly newspapers usually have a number of full-time employees, including editorial assistants and news clerks who type family news items such as obituaries and news releases, and who may also be responsible for writing and photographing stories. Many of these newspapers also employ correspondents, often on a freelance basis and paid for on a per-story basis. In addition, most newspapers have advertising sales representatives who sell display advertisements. They are usually assigned a specific geographic-coverage area, and may specialize in selling commercial or real estate ads.