Daily News Sold! New York's Hometown Paper Once Again Owned By Chicago Company

The New York Daily News, which for many years has billed itself as "New York's Hometown Paper," will once again be owned by a Chicago company. Tronc, which owns the Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, among other papers, announced Monday that it had purchased the News.

Again. Tronc, when it was called Tribune, owned the Daily News for decades, selling it in 1991.

“We are excited to welcome the New York Daily News team to the tronc family, and we look forward to working with them to serve new audiences and marketers while delivering value for our shareholders,” said Justin Dearborn, tronc CEO.

“As part of the tronc portfolio, the New York Daily News will provide us with another strategic platform for growing our digital business, expanding our reach and broadening our services for advertisers and marketers.”

Arthur Browne, who started at the News as a copy boy in 1973 and rose to become editor, had been planning to retire soon. He has agreed to stay on as editor and publisher through the end of the year to help with the transition.

"Over the past near-century, the New York Daily News has served New York City and its surrounding areas with its award-winning journalism and helped shape the dynamics of the city,” said Mort Zuckerman, New York Daily News chairman and publisher, and owner since 1993.

Zuckerman was a stabilizing influence on the paper.

Tribune sold the paper in 1991 to tycoon Robert Maxwell, who was found dead floating off his yacht near the Canary Islands just months after purchasing the paper. Tribune had been looking to sell it on and off after a strike forced by the Tribune nearly sank the paper.

Zuckerman came in and provided a steady financial influence after Maxwell's death. Unfortunately, like many papers around the country, the Daily News hit some rough waters. Zuckerman first put it on the market in 2015 before taking it off last year.

Tronc itself was the target of an acquisition bid in 2016 when Gannett attempted to buy the company. This year, tronc tried to buy another tabloid, the Chicago Sun-Times, but was thwarted by a hometown ownership group and the Justice Department. Tronc stands for "Tribune online content."

Tronc is now run by Michael Ferro, a Chicago investor and entrepreneur who took control of Tribune Publishing in early 2016 by ousting its CEO.

While several veterans have expressed concern the ghost of the Tribune Company is returning to the scene, others are hopeful this is just what the paper needs.

"When I read that tronc had bought it, I was thrilled because it means this great newspaper put out by a talented and gritty staff , many of them friends, will continue to publish," Dennis Hamill, who wrote a column for the paper for 24 years, told Patch.

"I can't imagine New York without the New York Daily News so I congratulate tronc on a great buy and wish the Daily News every success."

Hamill is as much a part of News royalty as anyone - his brother Pete was also a columnist (as well as editor in chief), his brother John was a reporter for the paper and his brother Joe was a copy boy and freelancer. But he is not concerned about the paper's history in New York.

"I have to root for anyone who wants to keep newspapers alive," he told Patch. "Especially now when we see how vital newspapers still are in the age of Trump.

"Newspapers are offering the check and balance."

Hamill and his family are among just a few of the many famous names who have graced the pages of the News including the great columnist Jimmy Breslin, Maggie Haberman who now covers for Trump from the White House for The New York Times, Sam Roberts, also now of the Times, Mike McAlary, and Mike Lupica.

McAlary won one of the paper's 11 Pulitzers in 1997 for his coverage of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was brutalized by police.

The paper won its most recent Pulitzer this year for a series it did with ProPublica about how the police department abuse eviction rules.

When David Berkowitz - as the Son of Sam - was terrorizing New York in 1977 and decided to write to a newspaper, he penned letters to Breslin at the News.

Veteran crime reporter Jerry Capeci helped define mafia coverage at the paper with his weekly Gangland column.

It had great court reporters and investigative reporters like Barbara Ross and Brian Kates and it's still the home to many veteran New York reporters such as police bureau chief Rocco Parascandola.

The News for many years had a reputation for providing a voice for working class New Yorkers. It used its front page to make strong points where subtlety had no place.

When the city was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1975 and President Ford denied aid, the News summed it up as such:

"FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD."