The history of the great metropolitan dailies

The great metropolitan daily newspaper, the large, ambitious big-city paper that chronicled urban life and shaped public opinion, stands as a defining institution in the history of American journalism, and its rise over more than a century illuminates the evolution of the press and its role in the life of the nation's cities.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, metropolitan newspapers grew into powerful and influential institutions, competing fiercely for readers in the booming cities, pioneering new forms of journalism, and employing large staffs of reporters, editors and other workers to produce multiple editions each day.

These papers chronicled every aspect of urban life, from politics and crime to business, sports, culture and society, serving as a shared source of information and a common reference point for the diverse populations of the growing cities, and shaping civic life and public discourse.

At their height, the great dailies wielded enormous influence, their investigations and editorials capable of shaping elections, exposing corruption and driving reform, and their publishers and editors ranking among the most powerful figures in their cities and beyond.

The metropolitan dailies also developed the professional practices, standards and traditions that came to define modern journalism, from the newsroom's division of labour to the ideals of accuracy, fairness and public service that aspired to guide the work.

The subsequent decline of the great metropolitan dailies, battered by the loss of advertising, the fragmentation of audiences and the rise of new media, has been one of the most consequential developments in the recent history of the press. Looking back at their rise and their role offers insight into the history of American journalism and urban life, and a reminder of the central place that the big-city newspaper once held in the life of the nation's communities.