The '''Philadelphia Daily News''' is a
tabloid newspaper that began publishing on
March 31,
1925, under founding editor
Lee Ellmaker. In its early years, it was dominated by crime stories, sports and sensationalism. By 1930, daily circulation of the morning paper exceeded 200,000. It is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C.
Circulation dropped over the years, and by 1954, the money-losing paper was sold to
Matthew McCloskey, a contractor and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. In December of 1956, the paper's financial condition was so bad that McCloskey got permission from the unions for a 90 percent cut in the workforce.
In 1957, McCloskey sold the paper to
Walter Annenberg, publisher of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer''. Annenberg killed off the ''Daily News''
' Sunday edition and made the tabloid into an afternoon paper.
In 1969, Annenberg sold both papers to Knight Newspapers Inc., which eventually became
Knight Ridder following a merger.
Under the new ownership, the Daily News returned to morning publication and aimed to be taken more seriously. The paper's journalists have won the
Pulitzer Prize twice since then.
Richard Aregood won in
1985 for editorial writing and
Signe Wilkinson won for her editorial cartoons in 1992.
The paper continues to struggle financially (It was surpassed in circulation, but not readership, by the free daily ''
Metro)''. When the sale of Knight Ridder to
The McClatchy Company was announced in March 2006, there were rumors that McClatchy would close the ''Daily News.'' However, in May, before the sale was finalized, it was announced that the ''Inquirer'' and ''Daily News'' would be re-sold to Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., a local group led by advertising executive
Brian Tierney and co-founder of the
Toll Brothers homebuilding firm,
Bruce Toll. The deal became official on
June 29,
2006. The group intends to strengthen the online presence of both papers, and begin an extensive ad campaign.
[3].
References
1. Frisby now Daily News publisher, , Jeff, Gelles, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2007
2. 2007 Top 100 Daily Newspapers in the U.S. by Circulation
3. Local group buys Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com, , Harold, Brubaker, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2006
External links
★
''Philadelphia Daily News'' Online
★
Philadelphia Media Holdings website