The New York Times Company

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Coordinates: 40°45′22″N 73°59′25″W / 40.75611°N 73.99028°W / 40.75611; -73.99028

The New York Times Company
Public
Traded as Class A Common Stock: NYSE: NYT
S&P 400 Component
Class B Common Stock: unlisted
Industry Newspapers
Founded September 18, 1851; 167 years ago (1851-09-18)
Founders Henry Jarvis Raymond
George Jones
Headquarters The New York Times Building, Manhattan, New York, United States
Key people
 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.
(Chairman)
Mark Thompson
(President and CEO)
Products The New York Times
International New York Times
Other media properties
Revenue Increase US$ 1.676 billion (2017)[1]
Increase US$112.366 million (2017)[1]
Decrease US$4.296 million (2017)[1]
Total assets
  • Decrease US$ 2.100 billion (2017)[1]
  • Decrease US$ 2.185 billion (2016)[1]
Total equity Increase US$897.279 million (2017)[1]
Owner Sulzberger family (13%)[2][3]
Carlos Slim (17%)[4]
Number of employees
 3,700 (December 2017)[1]
Website www.nytco.com

The New York Times Company is an American media company which publishes its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. has served as chairman since 1997.[5][6] It is headquartered in Manhattan, New York.[7]

History[edit]

The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. The first edition of the newspaper The New York Times, published on September 18, 1851, stated: "We publish today the first issue of the New-York Daily Times, and we intend to issue it every morning (Sundays excepted) for infinite years to come."[8]

The company moved into the cable channel industry purchasing a 40% interest in the Popcorn Channel, a theatrical movie preview and local movie times, in November 1994.[9]

The New York Times Building

The company completed its purchase of The Washington Post's 50 percent interest in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) for US$65 million on January 1, 2003, becoming the sole owner.[10]

On March 18, 2005, the company acquired About.com, an online provider of consumer information for US$410 million.[11] In 2005, the company reported revenues of US$3.4 billion to its investors.[citation needed]

The Times, on August 25, 2006, acquired Baseline StudioSystems, an online database and research service on the film and television industries for US$35 million.[12]

The company announced on September 12, 2006, its decision to sell its Broadcast Media Group, consisting of "nine network-affiliated television stations, their related Web sites and the digital operating center"[13] The New York Times reported on January 4, 2007, that the company had reached an agreement to sell all nine local television stations to the private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, which then created a holding company for the stations, Local TV LLC.[14][15] The company announced that it had finalized the sale of its Broadcast Media Group on May 7, 2007, for "approximately $575 million."[15]

The company moved from 229 West 43rd Street to The New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Avenue, on the west side of Times Square, between 40th and 41st streets across from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Bus Terminal.[16]

On July 14, 2009, the company announced that WQXR was to be sold to WNYC, which moved the station to 105.9 FM and began to operate the station as non-commercial on October 8, 2009. This US$45 million transaction, which involved Univision Radio's WCAA moving to the 96.3 FM frequency from 105.9 FM, ended the Times' 65-year-long ownership of the station.[17]

In December 2011, the company sold its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Group, owners of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, for $143 million. The Boston Globe and The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester were not part of the sale.[18] In 2011, the Times sold Baseline StudioSystems back to its original owners, Laurie S. Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, majority shareholders of Project Hollywood LLC.[12]

Facing falling revenue from print advertising in its flagship publication in 2011, The New York Times, the company introduced a paywall to its website. As of 2012, it has been modestly successful, garnering several hundred thousand subscriptions and about $100 million in annual revenue.[19]

In 2013, the New York Times Company sold The Boston Globe and other New England media properties to John W. Henry, the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. According to the Times Company, the move was made in order to focus more on its core brands.[20][21]

Radio stations[edit]

The paper bought AM radio station WQXR (1560 kHz) in 1944.[22] Its "sister" FM station, WQXQ, would become WQXR-FM (96.3 MHz). Branded as "The Radio Stations of The New York Times", its classical music radio format was simulcast on both the AM & FM frequencies until December 1992, when the big-band and pop standards music format of station WNEW (1130 kHz – now WBBR/"Bloomberg Radio") was transferred to and adopted by WQXR; in recognition of the format change, WQXR changed its call letters to WQEW (a "hybrid" combination of "WQXR" and "WNEW").[23] By 1999, The New York Times was leasing WQEW to ABC Radio for its "Radio Disney" format.[24] In 2007, WQEW was finally purchased by Disney; in late 2014, it was sold to Family Radio (a religious radio network) and became WFME.[25] On July 14, 2009, it was announced that WQXR-FM would be sold to the WNYC radio group who, on October 8, 2009, moved the station from 96.3 to 105.9 MHz (swapping frequencies with Spanish-language station WXNY-FM, which wanted the more powerful transmitter to increase its coverage) and began operating it as a non-commercial, public radio station.[26] After the purchase, WQXR-FM retained the classical music format, whereas WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz) abandoned it, switching to a talk radio format.

Company holdings[edit]

Main article: List of assets owned by The New York Times Company

Alongside its namesake newspaper, the company also owns the New York Times International Edition and their related digital properties including NYTimes.com, as well as various brand-related properties.[27]

Ownership[edit]

Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Of the two categories of stock, Class A and Class B, the former is publicly traded and the latter is held privately—largely (nearly 90%) by the descendants of Adolph Ochs, who purchased The New York Times newspaper in 1896.

Carlos Slim loan and investment[edit]

On January 20, 2009, The New York Times reported that its parent company, The New York Times Company, had reached an agreement to borrow $250 million from Carlos Slim, a Mexican billionaire "to help the newspaper company finance its businesses".[28] The New York Times Company later repaid that loan ahead of schedule.[29] Since then, Slim has bought large quantities of the company's Class A shares, which are available for purchase by the public and offer less control over the company than Class B shares, which are privately held.[29] Slim's investments in the company included large purchases of Class A shares in 2011, when he increased his stake in the company to 8.1% of Class A shares,[30] and again in 2015, when he exercised stock options—acquired as part of a repayment plan on the 2009 loan—to purchase 15.9 million Class A shares, making him the largest shareholder.[29][31] As of March 7, 2016, Slim owned 17.4% of the company's Class A shares, according to annual filings submitted by the company.[32][33][34]

Although Slim is the largest shareholder in the company, his investment does not give him the ability to control the newspaper, as his stake allows him to vote only for Class A directors, who compose just a third of the company's board.[29] According to the company's 2016 annual filings, Slim did not own any of the company's Class B shares.[32]

Board of directors[edit]

At the April 2005 board meeting, Class B shareholders elected nine of the fourteen directors of the company.[35]

Community awards[edit]

2008 I Love My Librarian award recipients Linda Allen and Margaret "Gigi" Lincoln talk with Janet Robinson in The New York Times Building.

The company sponsors a series of national and local awards designed to highlight the achievements of individuals and organizations in different realms.

In 2007, it inaugurated its first Nonprofit Excellence Award, awarded to four organizations "for the excellence of their management practices". Only nonprofits in New York City, Long Island, or Westchester were eligible.[36]

Jointly with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the American Library Association, The New York Times Company sponsors an award to honor librarians "for service to their communities." The I Love My Librarian! award was given to ten recipients in December 2008, and presented by The New York Times Company president and CEO Janet L. Robinson, Carnegie Corporation president Vartan Gregorian, and Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association.[37]

In May 2009, the company launched The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award to honor an American playwright who had recently had his or her professional debut in New York.[38] The first winner was Tarell Alvin McCraney for his play "The Brothers Size".[39] In 2010, Dan LeFranc won for his play "Sixty Miles to Silver Lake".[40]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g The New York Times Company 2017 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). The New York Times Company. 27 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Mexican Billionaire Invests in Times Company". The New York Times. January 20, 2009.
  3. ^ "The Sulzberger Dynasty Tightens Its Grip on the New York Times". Fortune.com. October 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Vinton, Kate. "These 15 Billionaires Own America's News Media Companies". Forbes.
  5. ^ The New York Times (May 10, 2008). "Times Publisher and His Wife Separate". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  6. ^ "Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. Biography" Archived December 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ "Contact Us". The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  8. ^ "Timeline". The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  9. ^ (November 28, 1994). "The New York Times Co. has decided to enter the cable network business by taking a 40% stake in the soon-to-be-launched Popcorn Channel. (Brief Article)." Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media LLC. 1994. Retrieved April 27, 2015 from HighBeam Research.
  10. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (January 2, 2003). "International Herald Tribune Now Run Solely by The Times". The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2008. The International Herald Tribune, descendant of an American paper first published in Paris in 1887, is appearing today for the first time under the sole ownership and management of The New York Times Company. The takeover ends an anomalous 35-year partnership between The Times and its domestic competitor The Washington Post that produced a journalistic hybrid consisting mainly of articles and editorials from both papers compiled by editors in Paris. In October, The Times reached an agreement to buy The Post's 50 percent stake in the venture for about $70 million -- in part, The Post said, by threatening to start a rival paper overseas.
  11. ^ Teather, David (2005-02-17). "New York Times buys About.com". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  12. ^ a b "NY Times Sells TV/Movie Database Baseline". Deadline Hollywood. October 7, 2011.
  13. ^ "The New York Times Company Announces Plan to Sell Its Broadcast Media Group" (Press release). The New York Times Company. September 12, 2006. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  14. ^ Story, Louise (January 4, 2007). "New York Times to Sell 9 Local TV Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  15. ^ a b "The New York Times Company Reports April Revenues" (Press release). The New York Times Company. May 17, 2007. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2008. On May 7, 2007, the Company sold the Broadcast Media Group, consisting of nine network-affiliated television stations, their related Web sites and the digital operating center, for approximately $575 million.
  16. ^ "The New York Times Company Enters The 21st Century With A New Technologically Advanced And Environmentally Sensitive Headquarters" (PDF) (Press release). The New York Times Company. November 19, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  17. ^ Bensinger, Greg (July 14, 2009). "New York Times to Get $45 Million for Radio Station". Bloomberg News. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  18. ^ Staff/wire reports (December 27, 2011). "New York Times agrees to sell regional news group". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  19. ^ Sass, Erik (March 12, 2012). "'NYT' Pay Wall Could Bring $100M Annually". Media Daily News. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  20. ^ Christine, Haughney (August 3, 2013). "New York Times Company Sells Boston Globe". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Red Sox Principal Owner to Buy Boston Globe Newspaper". The Wall Street Journal. August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  22. ^ "New York Times Timeline 1941–1970". The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  23. ^ Kozinn, Allan (October 21, 1992). "WQXR-AM to Change Its Format, to Popular Music From Classical". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  24. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (December 2, 1998). "WQEW-AM: All Kids, All the Time". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  25. ^ Family Radio Returns To New York – RadioInsight Archived February 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. November 21, 2014
  26. ^ Bensinger, Greg (July 14, 2009). "New York Times to Get $45 Million for Radio Station". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  27. ^ "Business Units". The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008. The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM, and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com, and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting, and distributing high-quality news, information, and entertainment.
  28. ^ Dash, Eric (January 19, 2009). "Mexican Billionaire Invests in Times Company". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  29. ^ a b c d Laya, Patricia; Smith, Gerry (January 14, 2015). "Billionaire Carlos Slim Doubles Holdings in New York Times". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  30. ^ Saba, Jennifer (October 6, 2011). "Carlos Slim increases stake in NY Times". Reuters. Retrieved July 1, 2012."
  31. ^ "Carlos Slim becomes top New York Times shareholder". January 14, 2017 – via Reuters.
  32. ^ a b "The New York Times Company Notice of 2016 Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement" (PDF). The New York Times Company. March 22, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  33. ^ "Annual Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, for The New York Times Company (Form 10-K)". Securities and Exchange Commission. February 24, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016., See Item 12, which states, "The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the sections titled "Principal Holders of Common Stock," "Security Ownership of Management and Directors" and "The 1997 Trust" of our Proxy Statement for the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
  34. ^ Stiles, Andrew (27 May 2016). "New York Times Is Very Concerned About Billionaire Media Investors—But Not Their Billionaire Investor". Heatstreet. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 29 May 2016. Slim doubled his stake in the Times to 16.8 percent last year after exercising options tied to a $250 million loan he gave the company that helped it survive the financial downturn in 2009. His current stake in the company is valued at more than $300 million.
  35. ^ "2005 Proxy Statement" (PDF). The New York Times Company. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 7, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  36. ^ "The New York Times Company Announces Four Winners of Its First Nonprofit Excellence Awards" (Press release). The New York Times Company. June 28, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  37. ^ "Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award winners announced" (Press release). American Library Association. December 8, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  38. ^ Healy, Patrick. "Times's Outstanding Playwright Award Goes to Kristoffer Diaz". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  39. ^ Joseph, Chris (2011-08-31). "Tarell Alvin McCraney Brings His Award-Winning The Brothers Size Home to Miami". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  40. ^ "The New York Times Company - Dan LeFranc Wins the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award For "Sixty Miles to Silver Lake"". investors.nytco.com. Retrieved 2017-02-12.

External links[edit]

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