NYTimes business

Newspapers historically had two distinct revenue streams: advertising and circulation. A common split was 80 percent advertising and 20 percent circulation. This revenue model supported investment in reporting, kept subscription and newsstand prices low, and generated healthy profits. [2] The New York Times was no exception. Founded in 1851, it was acquired in 1896 by Adolph S. Ochs. Two years later, Ochs lowered the price to 1 cent, which tripled circulation to 76,000 within a year, which, in turn, increased advertising revenue.


The New York Times building

For much of the 20th century, the Times was widely considered the paper of record for the United States. As of 2009, it had garnered 101 Pulitzer prizes, more than any other news organization. In 1992, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., great grandson of Adolph S. Ochs, was named publisher. [3]

In 1979, the Newspaper Association of America counted 1,763 daily newspapers in the US. Over the next 15 years, that count fell steadily, reaching 1,548 in 1994. Meanwhile, newspaper circulation began a steady decline a few years later, falling from 63 million subscribers in 1987 to 59.3 million in 1994. Sunday circulation started to slide in 1993, and went from 63 million in 1993 to 62.3 million in 1994. [4] New York Times circulation began to fall near the end of this period. For the six months ending in March 1994, weekday circulation was 1.19 million, down from 1.23 million the year before. Sunday circulation went to 1.77 million from 1.81 million the year before. [5]


[2] Suzanne M. Kirchhoff, "The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition," Congressional Research Service , September 9, 2010. See: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/634/

[3] William Glaberson, “8 of 10 Largest U.S. Papers Have Declines in Circulation,” New York Times , April 30, 1994, sec. Business. See: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/30/business/8-of-10-largest-us-papers-have-declines-in-circulation.html .

[4] Newspaper Association of America, “Newspaper Circulation Volume,” accessed April 14, 2014. See: http://www.naa.org/Trends-and-Numbers/Circulation-Volume/Newspaper-Circulation-Volume.aspx

[5] Glaberson, “8 of 10 Largest U.S. Papers Have Declines in Circulation.”