Chicago Daily News

▪ American newspaper

      evening daily newspaper published in Chicago between 1876 and 1978. In its heyday, it was famed for the excellence of its international coverage, which was widely syndicated throughout the United States. It was generally regarded as one of the great American dailies of its time.

      The Daily News was established in 1875 as a four-page, five-column daily by Melville E. Stone. Competition was fierce and money scarce, however, and in 1876 a financier, Victor F. Lawson (Lawson, Fremont), was persuaded to become the paper's business manager. When Lawson took over full ownership in 1888, the Daily News had a circulation exceeding 200,000, the second highest circulation in the United States.

      Under Lawson the Daily News emphasized contributions by well-known writers. Stimulated by the Spanish-American War, the Daily News built up a staff of foreign correspondents second to none. Frank Knox, who became U.S. secretary of the navy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, bought the paper in the early 1930s. John S. Knight (Knight, John S.) acquired the paper in 1944 and operated it for 15 years before selling it to Marshall Field IV, who also owned the Chicago Sun-Times. Circulation problems and rising expenses, combined with a steady decline in the fortunes of afternoon newspapers, put the paper in constant economic trouble, and the Chicago Daily News folded in 1978.

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