''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

''. The ''Daily News'' began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. By 1930, the newspaper's circulation exceeded 200,000, but by the 1950s the news paper was losing money. In 1954, the newspaper was sold to Matthew McCloskey and then sold again in 1957 to publisher Walter Annenberg. In 1969, Annenberg sold the ''Daily News'' to Knight Ridder. In 2006 Knight Ridder sold the paper to a group of local investors. The ''Daily News'' has won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

three times.

History

''Philadelphia Daily News'' 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. 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 The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wol ...

. In December 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 ''

''. 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

three times. Richard Aregood won in 1985 for editorial writing,

Signe Wilkinson Signe Wilkinson (born July 25, 1950, in Wichita Falls, Texas) is an editorial cartoonist best known for her work at the ''Philadelphia Daily News''. Her work is described as having a "unique style and famous irreverence." Wilkinson is the only f ...

won for her editorial cartoons in 1992 and Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman won in 2010 for investigating reporting for their "Tainted Justice" series focusing on the alleged misdeeds of a rogue narcotics squad. 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 The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states an ...

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 Brian P. Tierney (born 1957) is an American advertising and public relations executive and former publisher of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. Born in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Tierney is chief executive officer of Brian Communication ...

and co-founder of the

Toll Brothers Toll Brothers is a company which designs, builds, markets, sells, and arranges financing for residential and commercial properties in the United States. In 2020, the company was the fifth largest home builder in the United States, based on home ...

homebuilding firm, Bruce Toll. The deal became official on June 29, 2006. The group intended to strengthen the online presence of both papers, and began an extensive ad campaign. Falling circulation and ad revenue caused Philadelphia Media Holdings to make the ''Daily News'' into an edition of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. Without making any other changes to the ''Daily News'', making it part of ''The Inquirer'' would combine the circulation numbers of both papers by the

Audit Bureau of Circulation An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulat ...

. The idea was to make the newspapers more attractive to advertisers. On April 14, 2010 Brian Tierney announced that the ''Daily News'' would launch a weekend edition in October. The weekend edition's content would be similar to the daily edition, but would have features that would not be time sensitive and be able to be read anytime during the week. In early 2009, debts from buying the newspapers forced Philadelphia Newspapers LLC into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bankruptcy was the beginning of a year-long dispute between Philadelphia Media Holdings and creditors. The group of creditors, which include banks and hedge funds, wanted to take control of Philadelphia Newspapers LLC themselves, and opposed efforts by Philadelphia Media Holdings to keep control. Philadelphia Media Holdings received support from most of the paper's unions and launched a public relations campaign to promote local ownership. A bankruptcy auction was held on April 28, 2010. The group of lending creditors and a group of local investors allied with Brian Tierney both bid for Philadelphia Newspapers, but the lenders had the winning bid. The lenders' company, Philadelphia Media Network, took control later that year. In July 2012, after selling the Inquirer Building in 2011, the ''Daily News'' along with ''The Inquirer'' and Philly.com moved their offices to the 3rd floor of the old

Strawbridge & Clothier Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporiu ...

department store on East Market Street. In 2019, Philadelphia Media Network renamed Philly.com Inquirer.com and made the ''Daily News'' an edition of the ''Inquirer''. Philadelphia Media Network was renamed The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC.

George Fencl Award

The George Fencl Award, named in honor of

Philadelphia Police The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, fourth larges ...

Officer George Fencl, is given by the ''Daily News'' to a Philadelphia Police Officer who exemplifies compassion, fairness, and civic commitment. The award was first given in 1986.

Sportsperson of the Year

The ''Daily News'' named its first Sportsperson of the Year in 2008.For complete article, ''scroll down'' below the advertisements and also click on links to pages 2, 3, and 4. *2008 – Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies *2009 – Jay Wright, Villanova Wildcats basketball coach *2010 – Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies *2011 – Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies *2012 – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels outfielder, born and raised in Millville.

Notable employees

*Richard Aregood, 1985

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of styl ...

* Richie Ashburn, Major League Baseball player, columnist * John Baer, political journalist * Stu Bykofsky, columnist *

Pete Dexter Pete Dexter (born July 22, 1943) is an American novelist. He won the U.S. National Book Award in 1988 for his novel '' Paris Trout''. Early life and education Dexter was born in Pontiac, Michigan. His father died when Dexter was four and he ...

, columnist * Ray Didinger, sports columnist * Bill Fleischman, journalist and assistant sports editor * Jay Greenberg, sports writer *

Paul Hagen Paul Falck Hagen (19 March 1920 – 19 May 2003) was a Danish film and television actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1999. He is most known for playing Mr. Clausen in the television series Huset på Christianshavn, whi ...

, baseball writer and columnist, 1987–2012; J. G. Taylor Spink Award recipient * Stan Hochman, sports columnist * Phil Jasner, sports columnist * Gar Joseph, city editor *Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman, 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting * Larry Merchant, sportswriter, later TV boxing commentator *

Alan Richman Alan Richman (born January 25, 1944) is an American journalist and food writer. He was a food correspondent for '' GQ'' magazine, and has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for journalism. Early life and education Richman is a graduate of the ...

, food writer *

Chuck Stone Charles Sumner "Chuck" Stone, Jr. (July 21, 1924 – April 6, 2014) was an American pilot, newspaper editor, journalism professor, and author. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and was the first president of the National ...

, columnist, 1972 – 1991 *

Bascom N. Timmons Bascom Nolley Timmons (March 31, 1890 – June 8, 1987) was an American newspaperman based in Washington, D.C., in a career that spanned all or parts of six decades. He was an advisor to U.S. Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Rooseve ...

, in 1944 hired Sarah McClendon as Washington correspondent for the ''Daily News'' *

, 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning

Prices

The ''Philadelphia Daily News'' prices are: $2.95 Monday-Saturday, as of 4/1/2019.

References

External links

''Philadelphia Daily News'' Online
{{authority control 1925 establishments in Pennsylvania Daily newspapers published in Pennsylvania Newspapers published in Philadelphia Publications established in 1925 Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers