Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Age: 56

WHAT HE DOES
He discloses secret government documents, anoints the best of Broadway, and moves financial markets. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. runs one of the most influential newspapers in the world, the New York Times, as well as its eponymous holding company, which owns the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, 15 regional papers, approximately 35 websites, nine television stations, and two radio stations.

WHERE HE CAME FROM
The Ochs and Sulzberger families have controlled the Times since Adolph Ochs bought the paper in 1896. After Ochs’ death, his son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, took over as publisher, all but guaranteeing the eventual dynastic rise of Arthur Hays Sulzberger’s grandson, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.

Born in Mount Kisco, New York (where the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham also spent much of her childhood), Sulzberger earned a political science degree at Tufts University. He embarked on a journalism career, working for the Raleigh Times in North Carolina and for the Associated Press before joining the Times as a Washington correspondent in 1978.

Over the years, Sulzberger moved through a variety of business and editorial positions at the Times. Beating out 12 other children in his generation of Sulzbergers, he succeeded his father as publisher in 1992 and as chairman five years later. 

WHAT HE GOT RIGHT
Under Sulzberger’s leadership, the Times was the first metropolitan paper to expand nationally. Where once its influence reached no farther than the New Jersey Turnpike, today about 50 percent of its weekday subscribers live outside New York City. This, along with the addition of color printing and lifestyle sections such as Escapes and Styles, has increased circulation rates at a time when most U.S. newspapers are losing ground.

Also important has been the creation of an online presence for the Times. NYTimes.com was launched in 1996, and today it draws more than 10 million unique viewers each month. Also in the company’s online portfolio is About.com, a guide to everything from cat care to home theaters, which the Times acquired for $410 million in 2005. The site generated $24.2 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006, up 44.8 percent from the previous year.

WHAT HE NEEDS TO FIX
The Times has been embroiled in several scandals and controversies in recent years. In 2003, reporter Jayson Blair’s articles were found to be riddled with plagiarism and falsifications, raising questions about editorial oversight and resulting in the departure of executive editor Howell Raines. In October 2005, Judith Miller was imprisoned for refusing to reveal sources to federal investigators, and the articles she wrote strongly suggesting the existence of weapons of mass destruction in the months prior to the war in Iraq have become a case study in flawed journalism. Throw in the 500-person companywide layoff in 2005 and the 2006 rumor that the Globe was for sale, and—presto!—low newsroom morale.

Whereas his predecessors took a sober, serious tone, Sulzberger often acts like a court jester. To kick off an employee meeting that he called in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, Sulzberger pulled a toy moose out of a bag, likening it to an 800-pound gorilla and encouraging staffers to speak candidly about unaddressed problems at the company. Pinch, as he is sometimes called—in contrast to his father, who was known as Punch—sometimes leaves observers wondering if he is fit to publish all the news that’s fit to print.

WHAT’S NEXT
With the internet stealing readers and advertisers away from print media, and newsprint becoming more expensive, Sulzberger’s primary challenge is to support his huge newspaper operation while expanding and strengthening the company’s multimedia holdings.

In addition, an ownership storm is brewing over Sulzberger’s head. A special class of stock has allowed the Sulzbergers to retain control of the company since it went public in the late ’60s, but now shareholders are demanding change. The Times maintains that the share structure is essential to preserving the independence and integrity of its journalists; shareholders claim that the declassification of shares will promote a “culture of accountability.” —Callen Bair