The New York World-Telegram was formed by the 1931 merger of the New York World, formerly owned by Joseph Pulitzer and sold to Scripps-Howard in 1930, and the Evening Telegram. In 1950, it merged with the New York Sun to become the New York World-Telegram and Sun. The New York World-Telegram and Sun later merged with the Journal-American and Herald-Tribune in 1966 to become the short-lived New York World Journal Tribune, nicknamed The Widget due to its long and unwieldy name. It ceased to exist on May 5, 1967.
The closure of the World-Journal-Tribune left New York City with three newspapers: The New York Times, the New York Post, and the New York Daily News.