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In 1834 Charles Dickens decided to invest some of the money he had made from his novels in a new radical newspaper, the Daily News. The plan was to produce a rival to the Morning Chronicle. Dickens became editor and in the first edition published on 21st January 1846, he wrote: "The principles advocated in the Daily News will be principles of progress and improvement; of education, civil and religious liberty, and equal legislation." Dickens employed his great friend and fellow social reformer, Douglas Jerrold, as the newspaper's sub-editor.

The Daily News was not a great commercial success and after seventeen issues he handed it over to his close friend, John Forster. The new editor had more experience of journalism and under his leadership sales increased. John Wentworth Dilke, the former editor of The Athenaeum also joined the paper. Over the years many of the leading writers with Liberal opinions contributed to the newspaper, including figures such as Charles Mackay, Harriet Martineau, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Massingham and H. G. Wells.

In 1901 the Daily News was purchased by George Cadbury, the Quaker owner of Cadbury Brothers and a strong supporter of William Gladstone and the Liberal Party . Cadbury used the newspaper to campaign for old age pensions and against sweated labour. As a pacifist, Cadbury and the newspaper were opposed to the Boer War.

The Daily News was absorbed by the Daily Chronicle in 1930 became the News Chronicle. It continued publishing under this name until it closed in 1960.

 

 

 

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