The New York Times

The New York Times
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The New York Times
The December 12, 2008, front page of
The New York Times
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner The New York Times Company
Publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.
Editor Bill Keller
Staff writers 350
Founded 1851
Headquarters New York Times Building
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
United States
Circulation 1,000,665 Daily
1,438,585 Sunday[1]
ISSN 0362-4331
Website nytimes.com
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record.

The Times is owned by The New York Times Company, which publishes 18 other newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe. The company's chairman is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., whose family has controlled the paper since 1896.

The paper's motto, as printed in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, is "All the News That's Fit to Print." It is organized into sections: News, Opinions, Business, Arts, Science, Sports, Style, and Features. The Times stayed with the eight-column format for several years after most papers switched to six columns, and it was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography. The Times has won the most Pulitzer Prizes (98) of any paper. Its website is one of the most popular, receiving over 14 million visitors in August 2008.

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Times v. Sullivan
1.2 The Pentagon Papers
2 Ownership
2.1 2008-2009 financial challenges
3 Content
3.1 Sections
3.2 Style
3.3 Web presence
3.3.1 NYT in Moscow
4 Controversy
5 See also
6 References
7 External links



[edit] History

The Times Square Building, The New York Times' headquarters from 1913 to 2007
New The New York Times headquartersThe New York Times was founded on September 18, 1851, by journalist and politician Henry Jarvis Raymond, the second chairman of the Republican National Committee, and former banker George Jones as the New-York Daily Times. Sold at an original price of one cent per copy, the inaugural edition attempted to address the various speculations on its purpose and positions that preceded its release:[2]

We shall be Conservative, in all cases where we think Conservatism essential to the public good;—and we shall be Radical in everything which may seem to us to require radical treatment and radical reform. We do not believe that everything in Society is either exactly right or exactly wrong;—what is good we desire to preserve and improve;—what is evil, to exterminate, or reform.

The paper changed its name to The New York Times in 1857. The newspaper was originally published every day but Sunday, but during the Civil War the Times, along with other major dailies, started publishing Sunday issues. The paper's influence grew during 1870–71 when it published a series of exposés of Boss Tweed that led to the end of the Tweed Ring's domination of New York's City Hall.[3] In the 1880s, the Times transitioned from supporting Republican candidates to becoming politically independent; in 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential election. While this move hurt the Times's readership, the paper regained most of its lost ground within a few years.[4]

The Times was acquired by Adolph Ochs, publisher of The Chattanooga Times, in 1896. The following year, he coined the paper's slogan, "All The News That's Fit To Print";[4] this was a jab at competing papers such as the New York World and the New York Journal American which were known for lurid yellow journalism. Under his guidance, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, and reputation. In 1904, the Times received the first on-the-spot wireless transmission from a naval battle, a report of the destruction of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Port Arthur in the Yellow Sea from the press-boat Haimun during the Russo-Japanese war. In 1910, the first air delivery of the Times to Philadelphia began.[4] The Times' first trans-Atlantic delivery to London occurred in 1919. In 1920, a "4 A.M. Airplane Edition" was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening.[5]

In the 1940s, the paper extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the fashion section in 1946. The Times began an international edition in 1946. The international edition stopped publishing in 1967, when it joined the owners of the New York Herald Tribune and The Washington Post to publish the International Herald Tribune in Paris. The paper bought a classical radio station (WQXR) in 1946.[6] In addition to owning WQXR, the newspaper also formerly owned its AM sister, WQEW (1560 AM).[7] The classical music format was simulcast on both frequencies until the early 1990s, when the big-band and standards music format of WNEW-AM (now WBBR) moved from 1130 AM to 1560. The AM station changed its call letters from WQXR to WQEW.[8] By the beginning of the 21st century, the Times was leasing WQEW to ABC Radio for its Radio Disney format, which continues on 1560 AM. Disney became the owner of WQEW in 2007.[7]

The Times had a separate television guide from 1988 to 2006, and was the last major newspaper to outsource its television guide's editorial to a syndication service such as Tribune Media Services, which compiled the guide's TV grids. Theatrical and movie listings were based on the opinions of Times critics and edited by former film critic Howard Thompson[9] from the section's inception in 1988 until a year before his death in 2002, then by Lawrence Van Gelder, Gene Rondinaro, Tim Sastrowardoyo, Neil Genzlinger, and Anita Gates.[10]

The New York Times trails in circulation only to USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper is owned by The New York Times Company, in which descendants of Adolph Ochs, principally the Sulzberger family, maintain a dominant role. In March 2007, the paper reported a circulation of 1,120,420 copies on weekdays and 1,627,062 copies on Sundays.[11] In the New York City metropolitan area, the paper costs $1.50 Monday through Saturday and $4 on Sunday. Elsewhere the Sunday edition costs $5. New home delivery subscribers receive a discount.[12] The Times has won 98 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.[13][14]

In addition to its New York City headquarters, the Times has 16 news bureaus in New York State, 11 national news bureaus and 26 foreign news bureaus.[15] At the end of 2005 it had approximately 350 full time reporters and 40 photographers, in addition to hundreds of freelance contributors. In 2006, The New York Times Co. laid off 500 employees (about 4% of its workforce), among them 45 in the Times newsroom, in common with a general trend among print news media.[16] The New York Times reduced its page width to 12 inches (300 mm) from 13.5 inches (340 mm) on August 6, 2007, adopting the width that has become the US newspaper industry standard.[17]

The newspaper's first building was located at 113 Nassau Street in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 it moved to 41 Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use.[18] The paper moved its headquarters to 1475 Broadway in 1904, in an area called Long Acre Square, which was renamed to Times Square. The top of the building is the site of the New Year's Eve tradition of lowering a lighted ball, which was started by the paper. The building is also notable for its electronic news zipper, where headlines crawled around the outside of the building. It is still in use, but is not operated by the Times. After nine years in Times Square, an Annex was built at 229 West 43rd Street. After several expansions, it became the company's headquarters in 1913, and the building on Broadway was sold in 1961. Until June 2007, The Times, from which Times Square gets its name, was published at offices at West 43rd Street; the paper stopped printing papers there on June 15, 1997.[19]

The newspaper remained there until June, 2007, when it moved three blocks south to 620 Eighth Avenue between West 40th and 41st Streets, in Manhattan. The new headquarters for the newspaper, The New York Times Building, is a skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano.[20][21]


[edit] Times v. Sullivan
Main article: New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
The paper's involvement in a 1964 libel case helped bring one of the key United States Supreme Court decisions supporting freedom of the press, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. In it, the United States Supreme Court established the "actual malice" standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and difficulty in proving what is inside a person's head, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.[22]


[edit] The Pentagon Papers
Main article: Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the Pentagon Papers, a secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971, were given ("leaked") to Neil Sheehan of The New York Times by former State Department official Daniel Ellsberg, with his friend Anthony Russo assisting in copying them. The Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. Controversy and lawsuits followed. The papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the public was told about the actions, and while President Lyndon B. Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and hurt efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the on-going war.[23]

When the Times began publishing its series, President Richard Nixon became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger included "people have gotta be put to the torch for this sort of thing..." and "let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail."[24] After failing to get the Times to stop publishing, Attorney General John Mitchell and President Nixon obtained a federal court injunction that the Times cease publication of excerpts. The newspaper appealed and the case began working through the court system. On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series. Ben Bagdikian, a Post editor, had obtained portions of the papers from Ellsberg. That day the Post received a call from the Assistant Attorney General, William Rehnquist, asking them to stop publishing. When the Post refused, the U.S. Justice Department sought another injunction. The U.S. District court judge refused, and the government appealed. On June 26, 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take both cases, merging them into New York Times Co. v. United States 403 US 713. On June 30, 1971 the Supreme Court held in a 6–3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the burden of proof required. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the First Amendment enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it a lukewarm victory, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security were at stake.[23]


[edit] Ownership
The Ochs-Sulzberger family, one of the United States' newspaper dynasties, has owned The Times since 1896.[4] After the publisher went public in the 1960s, the family continued to exert control through its ownership of the vast majority of Class B voting shares. Class A shareholders cannot vote on many important matters relating to the company, while Class B shareholders can vote on all matters. Dual-class structures caught on in the mid-20th century as families such as the Grahams of the Washington Post Company sought to gain access to public capital without losing control. Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, had a similar structure and was controlled by the Bancroft family; the company was later bought by the News Corporation in 2007.[25]

Major Class A shareholders, as of December 31, 2006, included the Sulzberger family (19 percent), T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (14.99 percent), Private Capital Management Inc. (9.34 percent), MFS Investment Management (8.28 percent) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. (7.15 percent). The Ochs-Sulzberger family trust controls roughly 88 percent of the company's class B shares. Any alteration to the dual-class structure must be ratified by six of eight directors who sit on the board of the Ochs-Sulzberger family trust. The Trust board members are Daniel H. Cohen, James M. Cohen, Lynn G. Dolnick, Susan W. Dryfoos, Michael Golden, Eric M. A. Lax, Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. and Cathy J. Sulzberger.[26]


[edit] 2008-2009 financial challenges
The company's dual-class ownership structure has deterred outside investors from pushing for change in Ochs-Sulzberger control. As of 2008[update] Two hedge funds, Harbinger Capital and Firebrand Partners, bought 19 percent of The Times.[27] On September 10, 2008, it was reported that Carlos Slim, one of the world's wealthiest men, had acquired a 6.4 percent stake for $120 million. These moves put pressure on the company, whose advertising and circulation have faltered recently, to improve its return to shareholders. The downturn in print advertising sales has recently spread to the Internet, and the recent acquisitions of Times Company stock might put increasing pressure on the family to sell or take the company private to escape Wall Street's attention.[27] The newspaper is currently over one billion dollars in debt.[28]

In December, 2008, the Times Co. said it planned to borrow up to $225 million against its new building, in which it has a 58 per cent stake. The company retained Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate firm, to act as its agent to secure financing, either in the form of a mortgage or a sale-leaseback arrangement, said James Follo, the Times Company's chief financial officer. The developer Forest City Ratner owns the rest of the building.[29] In March, 2009, a 15-year sale-leaseback for $225 million with WP Carey & Co. on the Times' share of the building was announced. The NYT Co. will have the right to buy back its part of the building, covered under the arrangement, for $250 million in 10 years, and will pay rent in the interem. The NYT Co. paid more than $600 million for its share of the building, in 2007. Both parties to the sale-leaseback expect the Co. to repurchase its space.[30] Carey CEO Gordon DuGan said "We’re willing to trade a low purchase price and good yield for future appreciation," in a Bloomberg report. "Basically it’s a secured loan," said Craig Evans, a broker with Colliers ABR Inc., a New York-based real estate services firm (affiliate of Colliers International), in the report. "It’s a way for them to borrow significant amounts of money against the value of their offices. And they’re paying a pretty significant price to do that."[31]

In a footnote to the current building transaction, Bloomberg reported that The NYT Co. sold "its former headquarters to Tishman Speyer Properties LP for $175 million in 2004. Tishman Speyer later sold the building to Africa Israel Investments Ltd. for $525 million.[31] The older building is now known as Times Square Building.[32]

On January 19, 2009, the Times Co. announced that it had accepted a $250 million loan from Slim.[33] Slim will receive a 14 percent interest rate and warrants that are convertible into Times Company shares on the loan. He has lost tens of millions on his original equity investment. Under the new financial arrangement, the equity stake could grow to 17 percent, though he will receive no representation on the company’s board and no shares with special voting rights. Bankers representing The Times approached Mr. Slim with the investment opportunity, Slim advisers say. Those bankers, at the firm SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, had first approached The Times with the idea of a deal with Mr. Slim, said a Times spokeswoman, Catherine Mathis.[34] The loan will help ease the company's immediate cash flow problems, which have been reported to include a $400 million credit-line maturity in May.[33] The notes have a six year maturity.[31] The company's continuing financial problems and Slim's ongoing interest, as evidenced by his two interventions in the course of five months, has led to speculation that he might be contemplating an outright takeover of the Times Company.[35]

On January 28, 2009, as the Times Co. reported its earnings plunged 48 percent in the fourth quarter because of lower advertising revenue in a weak economy, it also said it "had retained investment firm Goldman Sachs to help explore a sale of its stake in the company that owns the Boston Red Sox. Investors have been pressuring the company to sell assets .... The company holds a 17.8 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston baseball team as well as Fenway Park, a portion of a cable sports network and other properties. The Times reported in December that its parent company was exploring a sale."[36]

On January 28, 2009, The New York Times itself ran an op-ed piece by David Swensen, the author of Pioneering Portfolio Management and chief investment officer at Yale, and Michael Schmidt, a financial analyst at Yale, entitled "News You Can Endow." The column took note of the challenging financial circumstances of the nation's newspapers, and proposed "another option: Turn them into nonprofit, endowed institutions — like colleges and universities." In the face of the impact of digital, Internet distribution of news, the change would "free [newspapers] from the strictures of an obsolete business model and offer them a permanent place in society."[37] Steve Coll of The New Yorker and, previously, the Washington Post, responded to the idea,[38] as did the Post's Howard Kurtz[39] and, in opposition, Slate's Jack Shafer.[40]

On February 19, 2009, The NYT Co. suspended its common share dividends (both classes of stock) completely, having already cut it by 74% to 6 cents per share in November, 2008.[41] It was the first elimination of the dividend in four decades as a publicly traded company, and saved an additional $34 million per year.[42] The NYT Co. laid off 100 employees on March 26, 2009 and cut salaries for the rest of 2009 by 5%.[43]