Elected officials joined New York Daily News reporters outside of City Hall on Monday afternoon as journalists say they are fighting tooth and nail to continue serving the city.
Photo by Dean Moses
Elected officials joined New York Daily News reporters outside of City Hall on Monday afternoon as journalists say they are fighting tooth and nail to continue serving the city.
The Daily News Union says they are “too tough to die,” but according to those who toil for the paper’s parent company — Alden Global Capital, which acquired the 106-year-old paper in 2021 — their livelihoods are in danger, as is the long-term health of the tabloid known as “New York’s hometown paper.”
Considered a legend by his peers, Kerry Burke, renowned breaking news reporter and star of the 2006 reality television show “Tabloid Wars,” told rallygoers on July 14 that journalism is a labor of love for him, yet his employer is making newsgathering a herculean task due to the outlet’s low staff and wages.
“We climb the stairs, we knock the doors, we go places that other outlets don’t even begin to touch, and Alden Capital talks like they’re in the newspaper game, but they really are stripping the engine of democracy for parts,” Burke said. “We’re not asking for Montauk mansion money, we’re asking for living wages for people.”
Reporters at the historic outlet say they did not pursue journalism for the money, but are struggling to make ends meet at their current posts. According to workers, the Daily News has lost 25% of its staff as reporters, editors, and photographers either leave or are fired, and their positions are not replaced.
“We’re carrying the paper by ourselves, there’s no ambition coming from the top at all,” Daily News reporter Graham Rayman said. “I didn’t get into this for the money. I certainly did not get into journalism for the money. I got into it because it’s a cause, because it’s something that you do for the common good.”
As a dwindling staff continues to publish a daily newspaper covering a massive metropolis, a slew of elected officials lent their voices to their plight.
Manhattan City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa announced that she would introduce a resolution in the City Council seeking to halt predatory business practices.
“Firms cannot come in, gobble up our papers, fire our workers, not give them pay raises. And we will not be silenced,” De La Rosa charged. ”Without journalists and without a free press, there will be news, but it necessarily won’t be news that will reflect the values of our city.”
amNewYork reached out to Alden Global Capital and is awaiting a response.
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