On September 4, 2017, Tronc (now, Tribune Publishing), the publishing operations of the former Tribune Company (which had spun out its publishing assets to separate them from its broadcast assets), announced that it had acquired the "Daily News". Tronc had bought the "Daily News" for $1, assuming "operational and pension liabilities". By the time of purchase, circulation had dropped to 200,000 on weekdays and 260,000 on Sundays. In July 2018, Tronc fired half of the paper's editorial staff, including the editor-in-chief, Jim Rich. Rich was replaced by Robert York, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Tronc-owned "The Morning Call" in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The paper's social media staff were included in the cut; images and memes that were later deleted were posted on its Twitter feed.