A daily newspaper is a publication consisting of one or more issues, issued every day. It is typically a printed newspaper but may also be an online-only publication or a website. Some newspapers are devoted to specific topics, such as politics or sports, while others contain general news and entertainment. Some have separate editions for different days of the week, including Sunday editions, although they usually share a common name and format.
Most daily newspapers have departments devoted to editing, production/printing, circulation, and advertising. Many have op-ed and letters to the editor sections, where readers express opinions of other writers and editors. In addition, many have non-newspaper-specific departments such as accounting, human resources, and information technology.
Some newspapers have a focus on international affairs and have international editions. These may be repackaged versions of national newspapers, or they might be independent publications. In other cases, they may be devoted to specific groups of expatriates, such as the local gay community or indie rock enthusiasts. In addition, some of the major metropolitan newspapers have a separate English-language edition for readers outside their primary markets.
Traditionally, most daily newspapers have been oriented toward the center of the political spectrum and espoused democratic and liberal ideas. However, as competition from other media increased and printing costs fell, they began to move further left. This shift has been accelerated by the rise of social media, which can give individual journalists and small groups of activists unprecedented power to publish and spread their ideas.
In the 1920s, daily newspapers had very high market penetration—that is, they were delivered to nearly every household in their area. This was even true for a few very regional, or even national, newspapers. However, as other types of media began to compete with them, market penetration has declined. In the United States, it has fallen from over 100 percent in 1920 to less than 50 percent in 2000.
A number of measures have been taken to improve the credibility of daily newspapers. These include appointing ombudsmen, developing ethics policies and training, publishing corrections lists, communicating their editorial processes and rationale, and encouraging reader feedback. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on transparency in journalism, with some papers experimenting with different formats to provide more opportunities for public engagement.
The Yale Daily News is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States, founded on January 28, 1878. Its staff has included many notable figures in journalism and public life, including William F. Buckley, Lan Samantha Chang, John Hersey, Sargent Shriver, Joseph Lieberman, Paul Steiger, and Strobe Talbott. The paper has an AllSides Media Bias rating of Left.
The Yale Daily News Historical Archive contains digitized copies of the newspaper that are searchable and browseable. This archive is available free to the public and includes all issues published between 1878 and the present. For more information, see the YDN Rights and Permissions site.
