Established in 1903 as the official daily newspaper of Syracuse University, the D.O. broke from the administration and became independent in 1971. The paper currently rents office space at 744 Ostrom Avenue from the university and is widely available on campus, but is still cautiously critical of university policy. In turn the administration occasionally makes threatening overtures to the effect of charging The Daily Orange Corporation, a registered non-profit company, for the space it uses or even banning distribution of the paper on university property. It is currently available, free of charge, at more than 100 locations on the Syracuse University campus, Marshall Street, and Westcott Street.

The Daily Orange has a circulation of 9,000 and an estimated readership of 20,000. It publishes during the fall and spring semesters when classes are in session. In addition, extras for Back to School, Graduation, and Football / Basketball / Lacrosse season, as well as three issues of the Summer Orange are published at various times.

With the exception of a couple of members of the business staff the paper is run entirely by 30 or so students, as well as a fair number of freelance writers, photographers, columnists, and comic strip artists. These extremely dedicated individuals produce a professional, award winning newspaper for a readership largely concerned with crossword puzzles and poorly drawn comic strips. Regular sections are News, Pulp, Sports, Opinion / Editorial, Classifieds, and Comics. Occasional sections include (315), the weekly culture listing, music reviews, and university sports.