175 Years, Five Generations: A Newspaper’s Fight to Survive the Digital Age

Publisher Arthur Gregg Sulzberger credits family stewardship and investment in quality journalism with helping his newspaper survive the digital upheaval and reach 13 million subscribers.

His account spans 175 years and five generations, examining how the publication endured challenges ranging from confrontations with presidents to the disruption brought by the internet.

Sulzberger places family ownership at the centre of that survival story. He attributes the newspaper’s resilience to management that continues to invest in reporting while protecting its editorial independence.

The recovery he describes is not simply a shift from print to digital subscriptions. It is an argument for keeping journalism at the heart of the business, with quality and independence underpinning its ability to retain paying readers.