New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. struggles with wanting to maintain the prestige of the national newspaper while battling plummeting revenue, poor investment decisions and who will succeed him at the paper, according to a 5,000-word article published in New York magazine today.
The article, which doesn't contain any interviews with Sulzberger, focused largely on the legacy on the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has controlled the Times since Adolph Simon Ochs bought the Times in 1896, and which of the current family members, if any, will succeed Sulzberger.
Sulzberger has been the publisher since 1992 and, according to the article, has made several costly business decisions, including using the paper's excess money in the '90s to buy back its own stock, which has dropped from $45 to $15 since 2000. Sulzberger called it the "stupidest thing" he has done, but associates said passing on a pre-public financing opportunity of Google was the worst decision.
But by and large, the family remains devoted to the paper despite its losses.
“The quality of the paper,” said a friend of the Ochs-Sulzberger family, “is the one reason for the family to put up with the financial part.”
No apparent heir is in line to replace Sulzberger, the article states, but some Times employees said they thought David Perpich, Sulzerberg's nephew and Harvard M.B.A., is the best possible choice while others like Sulzberger's son, Arthur Gregg, who is a one of the top reporters at the Oregonian.
Read the article here.
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