Daily Bugle


The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Daily Bugle is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media. The newspaper first appeared in Fantastic Four No. 2, and its offices in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1. The Daily Bugle was first featured on film in the 2002 film Spider-Man. The fictional newspaper is meant to be a pastiche of both the New York Daily News and the New York Post, two popular real-life New York City tabloids.

Publishing history

The Daily Bugle is featured prominently in many Marvel Comics titles, especially those in which Spider-Man is the lead character. In 1996, a three-issue limited series was printed.
Since 2006, Marvel has published a monthly Daily Bugle newspaper reporting on the company's publications and authors. Marvel earlier used the newspaper format to promote Marvel's crossover events Civil War and House of M—reporting on storyline events as if the comic book Daily Bugle had come to life. Marvel restored this promotional function for the 2007 death of Captain America.

History

The Daily Bugle was founded in 1898 and has been published daily ever since. The Daily Bugle is printed in tabloid format like its rival the Daily Globe. The editor and publisher of the Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson, began his journalistic career as a reporter for the Bugle while still in high school. Jameson purchased the then-floundering Bugle with inheritance funds, from his recently deceased father-in-law and turned the paper into a popular success. Other magazines published from time-to-time include the revived Now magazine and the now-defunct Woman magazine, edited by Carol Danvers.
J. Jonah Jameson, Inc. purchased the Goodman Building on 39th Street and Second Avenue in 1936 and moved its entire editorial and publishing facilities there. Now called the Daily Bugle Building, the office complex is forty-six stories tall, and is capped by the Daily Bugle logo in letters on the roof. There are loading docks in the rear of the building, reached by a back alley. Three floors are devoted to the editorial office of the Bugle and two sub-basement levels to the printing presses, while the rest of the floors are rented.
The newspaper is noted for its anti-superhero slant, especially concerning Spider-Man, whom the paper constantly smears as a part of its editorial policy. However, the Editor-in-Chief, "Robbie" Robertson, the only subordinate to Jameson who is not intimidated by him, has worked to moderate it. More positively, the newspaper has also published important exposés of political corruption and organized crime in the city, and also takes a strong stance in favor of mutant rights, which has led to its being targeted by various criminals and hate groups.
Due to declining circulation, Jameson has conceded to Robertson's objections and has created a special feature section of the paper called The Pulse, which focuses on superheroes. In addition, the paper also intermittently ran a glossy magazine called Now Magazine.
Soon after the team's formation, the New Avengers decided to strike a deal with Jameson regarding exclusive content in exchange for removing the strong anti-Spider-Man sentiment from the newspaper, to which Jameson agreed. Merely one day later, Jameson broke the spirit of his agreement with Iron Man, using the headline "a wanted murderer, an alleged ex-member of a terrorist organization and a convicted heroin-dealer are just some of the new recruits set to bury the once good name of the Avengers," but refraining from attacking Spider-Man. This prompted Jessica Jones to sell the first pictures of her newborn baby to one of the Bugle's competitors instead.
In the first issue of Runaways vol. 2, Victor Mancha states in an exchange about Spider-Man that "The only people who think he's a criminal are Fox News and the Daily Bugle. And the Bugle is, like, the least respected newspaper in New York City." The paper's major named competitors are the Daily Globe, which implicitly takes a more balanced look at the superhero, Front Line, run by EIC Ben Urich and Sally Floyd, and The Alternative. After Peter Parker revealed he is Spider-Man and the Bugle planned to sue him for fraud, the paper itself was put on the defensive with front page accusations from The Globe of libeling the superhero.
The adventures of the staff of the newspaper beyond Peter Parker have been depicted in two series, Daily Bugle and The Pulse.

''The DB''

After Jameson suffered a near-fatal heart attack, his wife sold the Bugle to rival newspaper man Dexter Bennett, who changed the name to The DB, and transformed it into a scandal sheet. Since after Brand New Day no one knows the secret identity of Spider-Man anymore, the animosity between Jameson and Parker is retconned as a simple financial question, with Jameson's heart attack coming right after a monetary request from Peter.
The reputation of the DB since the mention in Runaways has plummeted down because of the new, scandalistic angle Bennett gives it. Several reporters unwilling, or refusing the new course, like Peter himself, are forced to go away, finding a new safe haven in the Front Line, the only magazine willing to accept people fired by Bennett, pursuing a scorched earth policy over them.
The villain Electro targeted Dexter Bennett because of a government bailout plan for the financially strapped paper. Spider-Man intervened, and during a battle inside the DB offices, the entire building was demolished, bringing an end to the newspaper as well.

''Front Line''

Front Line was a newspaper founded and run by Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. The organization was formed in ' No. 11 as Frontlines.com. The newspaper appeared in the miniseries ' and Siege: Embedded. Originally it was not competitive with the Daily Bugle while Jameson was still in charge, but it became an alternative view to The DB once Bennett took control.

Reborn

Sometime after the DB's destruction, Jameson, now the mayor of New York cashed in the DB shares he acquired from Bennett and gave the money to Robbie Robertson. Jameson asked Robertson to remake Front Line into the new Daily Bugle.

Fictional staff members

Current

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, the Daily Bugle is a clandestine paper run by humans meant to inform the public about the secrets of Apocalypse, here the tyrannical ruler of North America. This Daily Bugle is run by a Robbie Robertson, who is killed by a Brood-infected Christopher Summers, leaving the status of the paper unknown.

Amalgam

The Daily Bugle appears in the Amalgam world. Similar to the mainstream Bugle, employees include J. Jonah White, Tana Moon, Jack Ryder and Spider-Boy. In this world, the Daily Bugle regularly produces cover stories revolving around Spider-Boy's love life.

1602

In the Marvel 1602 setting, Jameson is publisher of the first "news-sheet" in the New World; the Daily Trumpet.

House of M

In this alternate reality, the Daily Bugle exists mostly as a propaganda machine for the ruling mutant hierarchy. Stories can be and are repressed if they aren't favorable enough to mutants. In this reality, a blue-skinned woman named Cerena Taylor is the editor-in-chief. Other staff members include Bugman, Jacob Guntherson, and Triporter.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Bugle is much the same as in the 616 version. The main difference is that Peter Parker is not employed as a photographer, but works on the newspaper's website after Jameson sees him assist with a problem. The newspaper plays less of a role in Ultimate Spider-Man than it did in the comics portraying the equivalent period of the 616 Spider-Man's career. Peter frequently implies that he doesn't spend much time there. After the events of Ultimatum, the Daily Bugle, much like the rest of New York, was heavily damaged. Instead of a full rebuild, the Bugle was made into an online newspaper and blog.

In other media

Television

Sam Raimi films