The New York Times

''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, it serves as one of the country's newspapers of record. As of 2023, the newspaper had 296,330 print subscribers, making it the second-largest newspaper by print circulation in the nation behind ''The Wall Street Journal'' with 609,650 print subscribers. Including online subscribers, it had a circulation of 9.126 million, the most of any newspaper in the nation. The ''Times'' has received 137 Pulitzer Prizes as of 2023, the most of any publication, among other accolades. ''The New York Times'' is published by The New York Times Company; since 1896, the company has been chaired by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose current chairman and the paper's publisher is A. G. Sulzberger. The ''Times'' is headquartered at The New York Times Building in Midtown Manhattan.

The ''Times'' was founded as the conservative ''New-York Daily Times'' in 1851, and came to national recognition in the 1870s with its aggressive coverage of corrupt politician William M. Tweed. Following the Panic of 1893, ''Chattanooga Times'' publisher Adolph Ochs gained a controlling interest in the company. In 1935, Ochs was succeeded by his son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, who began a push into European news. Sulzberger's son-in-law Arthur Ochs became publisher in 1963, adapting to a changing newspaper industry and introducing radical changes. ''The New York Times'' was involved in the landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case ''New York Times Co. v. Sullivan'', which restricted the ability of public officials to sue the media for defamation.

In 1971, ''The New York Times'' published the ''Pentagon Papers'', an internal Department of Defense document detailing the United States's historical involvement in the Vietnam War, despite pushback from then-president Richard Nixon. In the landmark decision ''New York Times Co. v. United States'' (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment guaranteed the right to publish the ''Pentagon Papers''. In the 1980s, the ''Times'' began a two-decade progression to digital technology and launched nytimes.com in 1996. In the 21st century, ''The New York Times'' has shifted its publication online amid the global decline of newspapers.

The ''Times'' has expanded to several other publications, including ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''The New York Times International Edition'', and ''The New York Times Book Review''. In addition, the paper has produced several television series, podcasts — including '' The Daily'' — and games through The New York Times Games. ''The New York Times'' has been involved in several controversies in its history. The ''Times'' maintains regional bureaus staffed with journalists on all six inhabited continents.

History

1851–1896

''The New York Times'' was established in 1851 by ''New-York Tribune'' journalists Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones. The ''Times'' experienced significant circulation, particularly among conservatives; ''New-York Tribune'' publisher Horace Greeley praised the ''New-York Daily Times''. During the American Civil War, ''Times'' correspondents gathered information directly from Confederate states. In 1869, Jones inherited the paper from Raymond, who had changed its name to ''The New-York Times''. Under Jones, the ''Times'' began to publish a series of articles criticizing Tammany Hall political boss William M. Tweed, despite vehement opposition from other New York newspapers. In 1871, ''The New-York Times'' published Tammany Hall's accounting books; Tweed was tried in 1873 and sentenced to twelve years in prison. The ''Times'' earned national recognition for its coverage of Tweed. In 1891, Jones died, creating a management imbroglio in which his children had insufficient business acumen to inherit the company and his will prevented an acquisition of the ''Times''. Editor-in-chief Charles Ransom Miller, editorial editor Edward Cary, and correspondent George F. Spinney established a company to manage ''The New-York Times'', but faced financial difficulties during the Panic of 1893.

1896–1945

In August 1896, ''Chattanooga Times'' publisher Adolph Ochs acquired ''The New-York Times'', implementing significant alterations to the newspaper's structure. Ochs established the ''Times'' as a merchant's newspaper and removed the hyphen from the newspaper's name. In 1905, ''The New York Times'' opened Times Tower. ''The New York Times'' reported on the sinking of the ''Titanic'', as other newspapers were cautious about bulletins circulated by the Associated Press. Through managing editor Carr Van Anda, the ''Times'' focused on scientific advancements, reporting on Albert Einstein's then-unknown theory of general relativity and becoming involved in the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. In April 1935, Ochs died, leaving his son-in-law Arthur Hays Sulzberger as publisher. The Great Depression forced Sulzberger to reduce ''The New York Times''s operations, and developments in the New York newspaper landscape resulted in the formation of larger newspapers, such as the ''New York Herald Tribune'' and the '' New York World-Telegram''. In contrast to Ochs, Sulzberger encouraged wirephotography.

''The New York Times'' extensively covered World War II through large headlines, reporting on exclusive stories such as the Yugoslav coup d'état. Amid the war, Sulzberger began expanding the ''Times''s operations further, acquiring WQXR-FM in 1944 — the first non-''Times'' investment since the Jones era — and established a fashion show in Times Hall. Despite reductions as a result of conscription, ''The New York Times'' retained the largest journalism staff of any newspaper. The ''Times''s print edition became available internationally during the war through the Army & Air Force Exchange Service; ''The New York Times Overseas Weekly'' later became available in Japan through '' The Asahi Shimbun'' and in Germany through the ''Frankfurter Zeitung''. The international edition would develop into a separate newspaper. Journalist William L. Laurence publicized the atomic bomb race between the United States and Germany, resulting in the Federal Bureau of Investigation seizing copies of the ''Times''. The United States government recruited Laurence to document the Manhattan Project in April 1945. Laurence became the only witness of the Manhattan Project, a detail realized by employees of ''The New York Times'' following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

1945–1998

Following World War II, ''The New York Times'' continued to expand. The ''Times'' was subject to investigations from the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, a McCarthyist subcommittee that investigated purported communism from within press institutions. Arthur Hays Sulzberger's decision to dismiss a copyreader who plead the Fifth Amendment drew ire from within the ''Times'' and from external organizations. In April 1961, Sulzberger resigned, appointing his son-in-law, The New York Times Company president Orvil Dryfoos. Under Dryfoos, ''The New York Times'' established a newspaper based in Los Angeles. In 1962, the implementation of automated printing presses in response to increasing costs mounted fears over technological unemployment. The New York Typographical Union staged a strike in December, altering the media consumption of New Yorkers. The strike left New York with three remaining newspapers — the ''Times'', the ''Daily News'', and the '' New York Post'' — by its conclusion in March 1963. In May, Dryfoos died of a heart ailment. Following weeks of ambiguity, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger became ''The New York Times''s publisher.

Technological advancements leveraged by newspapers such as the '' Los Angeles Times'' and improvements in coverage from '' The Washington Post'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'' necessitated adaptations to nascent computing. ''The New York Times'' published " Heed Their Rising Voices" in 1960, a full-page advertisement purchased by supporters of Martin Luther King Jr. criticizing law enforcement in Montgomery, Alabama for their response to the civil rights movement. Montgomery Public Safety commissioner L. B. Sullivan sued the ''Times'' for defamation. In ''New York Times Co. v. Sullivan'' (1964), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the verdict in Alabama county court and the Supreme Court of Alabama violated the First Amendment. The decision is considered to be landmark. After financial losses, ''The New York Times'' ended its international edition, acquiring a stake in the '' Paris Herald Tribune'', forming the ''International Herald Tribune''. The ''Times'' initially published the ''Pentagon Papers'', facing opposition from then-president Richard Nixon. The Supreme Court ruled in ''The New York Times''s favor in ''New York Times Co. v. United States'' (1971), allowing the ''Times'' and ''The Washington Post'' to publish the papers.

''The New York Times'' remained cautious in its initial coverage of the Watergate scandal. As Congress began investigating the scandal, the ''Times'' furthered its coverage, publishing details on the Huston Plan, alleged wiretapping of reporters and officials, and testimony from James W. McCord Jr. that the Committee for the Re-Election of the President paid the conspirators off. The exodus of readers to suburban New York newspapers, such as ''Newsday'' and Gannett

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