The newspaper will shrink its editorial team to just 40 full-time employees and transform to ‘digitally focused’ breaking news

Copies of the New York Daily News are for sale at a newsstand in New York City on Monday. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

The New York Daily News announced a 50% cut to its editorial staff early on Monday, marking a tremendous blow to one of the most popular papers in New York City and in the US as a whole.

In an email circulated to staff, executives said they had been working hard to transform the paper into “a truly digital-focused enterprise” but that they “have not gone far enough”.

Along with the 50% cut, the email said the paper will be refocusing on “breaking news – especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility.”

The move is poised to shrink the editorial team, which once numbered more than 250 according to former staffers, down to about 40 full-time employees.

Daily News staffers said the email was preceded by a brief meeting, lasting less than a minute, at the paper’s headquarters on Monday morning.

Last year the financially troubled paper was purchased for $1 by the Chicago-based publishing company Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Media. The sale launched what has been an ongoing process of reorganization and consolidation of some roles. The paper has not to date made any moves that were nearly so dramatic, though under previous management it underwent significant layoffs in 2013 and 2014.

In a tweet, the outgoing editor-in-chief, Jim Rich, said: “If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you.”

Rich also changed his Twitter biography to: “Just a guy sitting at home watching journalism being choked into extinction.” The departure of the Daily News’ managing editor, Kristen Lee, was also announced. Robert York, who is currently the editor of Tronc’s Allentown Pennsylvania paper Morning Call, was announced as Rich’s replacement in the email.

One of two major tabloids in the city, the Daily News is one of the top 10 most circulated papers in the country and is largely known for its often shocking and irreverent covers. Last week, the paper led with a cartoon depicting Donald Trump shooting “Uncle Sam” in the head on Fifth Avenue, while holding Vladimir Putin’s hand.

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.@realdonaldtrump derides reports with which he disagrees as “fake news,” then buys the Russian narrative hook, line, sinker, pole and boat. https://t.co/TGHurpVDKy



An early look at Tuesday's front... pic.twitter.com/BXsoZsIT4B



— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 16, 2018

Next year, the paper will celebrate its 100th year in publication. Last year it won its 11th Pulitzer prize.

Tronc has been cutting jobs at a number of its properties, including its flagship paper, the Chicago Tribune, and more recently at the Los Angeles Times, after staffers voted to unionize. The LA Times was then sold to the billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

“The decisions being announced today reflect the realities of our business and the need to adapt to an ever-changing media environment,” the Tronc email to Daily News staffers said. “They are not a reflection on the significant talent that is leaving today. Let there be no doubt: these colleagues are highly valued and will be missed.”