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 (black and white) 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.
Fictional 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.[3] Now called the Daily Bugle Building, the office complex is forty-six stories tall, and is capped by the Daily Bugle logo in 30-foot (9.1 m) 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. (A panel in #105 of The Amazing Spider-Man showed the Bugle building located near a street sign at the corner of Madison Avenue and a street in the East Fifties (the second digit was not shown). This suggests that the building may have been relocated at some point.)
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 (though not the letter) of his agreement with Iron Man, using the headline "a wanted murderer (Wolverine), an alleged ex-member of a terrorist organization (Spider-Woman) and a convicted heroin-dealer (Luke Cage) 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 superheroes, Front Line, run by EIC Ben Urich and Sally Floyd, and The Alternative. After Peter Parker revealed that 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 (with information secretly supplied by Bugle reporter Betty Brant) 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! (either standing for Dexter Bennett or Daily Bugle), and transformed it into a scandal sheet.[2] 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 (vol. 2) has plummeted downward 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 that were 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.[4]
Front Line
Front Line was a newspaper founded and run by Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. The organization was formed in Civil War: Front Line #11 as Frontlines.com. The newspaper appeared in the miniseries World War Hulk: Front Line 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 that he acquired from Bennett and gave the money to Robbie Robertson. Jameson asked Robertson to remake Front Line (which itself was on hard times) into the new Daily Bugle.[5]
Cliff Garner (reporter)[40][112] – formerly of the Air Force, investigated the possible conspiracy of Control, slain by co-conspiracy theorist General Edward Harrison[113]
Simon J. Goodman (publisher)[114] – publisher in the 1940s, name is probably a reference to Martin Goodman, first publisher of Marvel Comics.
unknown female reporter (reporter)[116] – Mystique in disguise, seen working as a Daily Bugle reporter in X-Factor
Amber Grant (freelance photographer)[117] – made Peter Parker envious of her ability to tell off Jameson and still sell to him; current status unknown
Jeffrey Haight (photographer)[118] – former boyfriend of Anna Kefkin, made alliance with Dr. Octopus in desperate effort to gain a front-page photograph. Sent to prison for assisting in Dr. Octopus' escape.
Walter "Old Man" Jameson (Editor/Reporter)[119] – Mistakenly assumed to be JJJ's father, David Jameson.
Peter Parker (photographer, usually freelance):[136] Fired for refusing to accept Dexter Bennett's way of doing business.[137] Presently works as a freelance photographer for the "Frontline".[138]
Jess Patton (Secretary)[139] – Killed and body taken over by the Thousand
Addie Pinckney (Los Angeles Correspondent)[140] – status unknown, was elderly when depicted.
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 Robbie Robertson, who is killed by a Brood-infected Christopher Summers, leaving the status of the paper unknown.[154]
Amalgam Comics
The Gotham Bugle (an amalgamation of the Daily Bugle and DC Comics' the Gotham Gazette) appears in the Amalgam Comics world. Similar to the mainstream Daily Bugle, employees include J. Jonah White, Jimmy Urich, Tana Moon, Jack Ryder and Spider-Boy. In this world, the Gotham Bugle regularly produces cover stories revolving around Spider-Boy's love life.[155]
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 are not favorable enough to mutants. In this reality, a blue-skinned woman named Cerena Taylor is the editor-in-chief. Other staff members include Bugman (the Daily Bugle's paparazzi driver), Jacob Guntherson (the Daily Bugle's photographer), and Triporter (the Daily Bugle's three-eyed reporter).
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel universe (Earth-1610), 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 does not 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.
Ultimate Universe
In the Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160), the Daily Bugle is owned by Wilson Fisk who is loyal to the Maker and his council. J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker were depicted as employees of the Daily Bugle until they resigned upon being disgusted at nobody wanting to investigate Tony Stark's "attack on New York City", opting to instead start their own journalism company, The Paper.[156]
A Daily Bugle newspaper appears in the Spider-Woman episode "The Kongo Spider".
The Daily Bugle appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. This version of the Bugle has a sister program called J3 Communications, a broadcasting station hosted by J. Jonah Jameson.
A Daily Bugle newspaper appears in the X-Men: Evolution episode "On Angel's Wings".
A parody of the Daily Bugle appears in a skit called "The X-Play Bugle", with Adam Sessler as the editor-in-chief, in the X-Play episode "Spider-Man 3".
The Daily Bugle appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man. Similar to the depictions seen in the Sam Raimi film trilogy and the Marvels, this version of the newspaper is also housed in the Flatiron Building.
The Daily Bugle appears in Ultimate Spider-Man. This version is called Daily Bugle Communications, which serves as a television news outlet, with J. Jonah Jameson (voiced by J. K. Simmons) as its most prominent anchorman.
The Daily Bugle appears in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), both directed by Marc Webb. This version of the company is a newspaper outlet and television station. Additionally, a Daily Bugle blog was hosted on Tumblr, where promotional material was posted as in-universe articles.
^Jack Morelli (w), Joyce Chen (p), Andy Lanning (i). "The Night They Killed Big Bear" Peter Parker: Spider-Man/Elektra '98, no. 1 (1998). Marvel Comics.