Firefighters found the one-story wooden building in flames shortly before 6 a.m., Fayetteville fire Sgt. Bill Rieck said.
``It's a total loss,'' said Cindy Morley, the newspaper's managing editor. ``Thank goodness nobody was there.''
Publisher Chuck Morely, her husband, estimated the damage at more than $1 million.
About 30 employees worked in the 7,000-square-foot building, built in 1984 in downtown Fayetteville, about 20 miles south of Atlanta.
The five-day-a-week morning newspaper, with a circulation of 6,200, is one of 31 published by Trib Publications.
Daily News employees were sent to other Trib offices, and Chuck Morely said he hoped to publish Friday's edition.
``We've got one computer. That's all we need,'' he said.
He said the fire might be arson because fire officials told him it started in a bathroom.
