Illustrated Daily News
The Illustrated Daily News, later known as the Daily News, was a Los Angeles daily newspaper published from 1923 to 1954. It was started in 1923 by Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, who hoped to build a chain of newspapers. After a rocky start, it was bought by Manchester Boddy, who ran it for most of its life.
Under Boddy, the paper moved away from its founder’s cautious style and became a bold, crusading voice. It aimed to publish clean journalism and frequently supported Democratic viewpoints at a time when most local papers were Republican. The Daily News took on corruption and vice in city government, gave readers strong editorials, and covered celebrities, sports, and gossip as part of its mix. It grew in influence and profit during the 1930s and 1940s, helped by staff such as pioneering photojournalist Helen Brush Jenkins; by 1947 its daily circulation was about 300,000.
After World War II, the paper faced fierce competition from the Chandler family’s Los Angeles Mirror. Boddy continued to invest heavily to keep it afloat, but profits declined. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1950 in both parties without success and sold his stake in 1952. The paper changed owners several times, reduced its editions and price, and in December 1954 the Chandlers bought it and merged the Daily News with the Mirror, eventually firing most of the staff.
At its height the Daily News stood out as a distinctive, energetic voice in Los Angeles journalism—supporting the underdog and challenging corruption—even as it struggled to survive.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 21:08 (CET).