In the 1920s, daily news was one of the first tabloid newspapers in America. Its sensational coverage of crime, scandal, and violence and its lurid photographs helped it gain a loyal following. The paper also offered classified ads, celebrity gossip, and comics. Its News Building on 42nd Street and Second Avenue was modeled after the Daily Planet in Superman, and became the site of the newspaper’s main offices.
During the 1980s, though, the paper began losing readers to its competitors, including the New York Times and the New York Post. The Tribune Company, which owned the newspaper at the time, wanted to slash costs by cutting salaries and reducing benefits. This angered the ten unions that backed the News, and they went on strike. During the five-month strike the paper continued to publish, but at a considerable loss—in its fourth quarter alone it reported a pretax operating loss of nearly $114.5 million.
After the strike, controversial British publisher Robert Maxwell bought the Daily News from the Tribune Company. He hired many non-union replacement workers, which caused the Allied Printing Trades Council to accuse him of trying to break their union. Maxwell died in 1991.
Under the leadership of editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman and chief executive officer Fred Drasner, the News enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and notoriety. In 1997, the paper added a section devoted to entertainment and lifestyle features; promoted Debby Krenek to editor-in-chief; and purchased four state-of-the-art Goss color presses. The Daily News has gained a reputation for its aggressive litigation in protecting First Amendment rights; for example it sued to force the release of judicial records regarding pending death penalty cases and to strengthen public access to family court records.