Prompt Cast
The Rise and Transformation of The New York Times: From Family Control to Digital Success
TLDR The New York Times, founded in 1851, has undergone a dramatic rise and transformation in the past 20 years. From being controlled by a single family for the majority of its existence to embracing technology and shifting towards a subscription-based model, the newspaper has successfully grown its digital subscriber base and revenue while maintaining its brand and journalistic integrity.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This is the story of The New York Times, the oldest company ever covered on this podcast, founded over 170 years ago and controlled by a single family for the majority of its existence, which has seen both a dramatic fall and rise in the last 20 years.
09:18
The New York Times was founded in 1851 by Henry Raymond and George Jones, with Raymond being a co-founder of the Republican Party and heavily involved in politics while also running the newspaper.
18:30
Adolf Ochs, a young newspaper enthusiast and son of Jewish immigrants, takes over the struggling Chattanooga Times in Tennessee at the age of 20 and successfully revives the newspaper.
28:16
Adolf Ochs successfully turns around the struggling Chattanooga Times, making it the premier newspaper in Chattanooga and generating $25,000 in annual profit, before buying the bankrupt New York Times using borrowed money and convincing President Grover Cleveland to endorse him.
37:22
Adolf Ochs plans to turn around The New York Times by positioning it as a boring and cheap alternative to the sensationalist yellow journalism of its competitors, and comes up with the motto "all the news that's fit to print."
45:59
Adolf Ochs cuts the price of The New York Times from three cents to one cent, leading to a surge in circulation and stealing market share from competitors.
54:50
Arthur Salzburger becomes the next publisher of The New York Times after a vote among the heirs of Adolf Ochs, and his wife Iphidine, who had the deciding vote, remains on the board for her whole life.
01:04:19
During World War II, The New York Times became a leading chronicler of the war, invested in high-quality journalism during times of financial crisis, and famously did not lay off any reporting staff in 2008-2009, but they also ignored the Holocaust and failed to report on the atrocities committed against Jews in Europe.
01:13:45
The New York Times differentiated itself from other newspapers by providing deeper analysis and interpretation of the news, introducing judgment and context into their reporting, and eventually creating the op-ed page to bring in outside views.
01:22:46
The New York Times missed the opportunity to launch a cable news network like Fox News, which became incredibly successful and profitable, ultimately becoming the number one news network on American television for 19 straight years.
01:31:56
The New York Times made poor capital allocation decisions in the 90s and 2000s, including purchasing the Boston Globe, buying a stake in the popcorn channel, buying a stake in the Boston Red Sox, acquiring various magazines and local papers, and buying back $3 billion of stock with debt.
01:41:14
The New York Times implemented a paywall in 2011, which initially generated backlash but eventually resulted in a significant increase in paid digital subscribers.
01:50:49
The New York Times realized that they needed to completely change the way they operate and focus on distribution and marketing in order to grow their subscription business and reach a wider audience, without sacrificing their core values of producing great journalism with integrity.
01:59:23
The New York Times experienced significant growth in digital subscribers, reaching 5 million in 2020 and surpassing print revenue for the first time ever, thanks to their successful shift in focus towards subscription-based revenue and high-quality journalism.
02:08:49
The New York Times underwent a significant turnover in their advertising department, replacing 85% of the staff with individuals who had digital skills, highlighting their commitment to becoming a major player in internet advertising despite their primary business model being subscription-based.
02:17:30
The New York Times faces challenges in maintaining its brand and journalistic integrity while also trying to adapt to the digital world and increase revenue per subscriber, leading to questions about its business model and potential conflicts between its mission and financial goals.
02:26:20
The New York Times has a strong brand power and scale economies due to its long-standing tradition and institutional knowledge, allowing it to outgun other organizations in terms of the number of reporters and journalists employed.
02:35:14
The New York Times has embraced a barbell media landscape, positioning itself as the one scale player in the industry, with a focus on high-quality journalism, internationalization, and embracing technology.
02:44:32
The New York Times has successfully maintained high subscription prices for its print edition, capitalizing on the willingness of its core readership to pay premium fees, while shifting its business towards digital.
02:53:14
The New York Times has revenue opportunities that they're not taking advantage of, particularly in the areas of video and streaming content, and there is potential for them to increase revenue from subscribers in years two and three.
03:02:32
The hosts wrap up the episode and encourage listeners to join the Acquired Slack community and become an Acquired limited partner.
Categories:
Technology
Business
