The New York Times Company
Acquired18 Feb 2021

The New York Times Company

For the entire 20th Century, you’d be hard pressed to find a better business than an American newspaper — Warren Buffett famously described them as “franchises” — and no American newspaper stood taller than the New York Times. Controlled by a single family bound by a legal oath “to maintain the editorial independence and integrity of The New York Times and to continue it as an independent newspaper, entirely fearless, free of ulterior influence and unselfishly devoted to the public welfare”, the Times served as the paper of record for generations of Americans and people around the world. But no good thing lasts forever, and the dawn of the 21st Century saw both the Times and this once-mighty industry devastated by the dual disruptive forces of the internet and the 2008 financial crisis. And yet by 2021, The Times, essentially alone of its former peers, has reemerged from the American newspaper wreckage and transformed itself into a thriving digital business with an order of magnitude more subscribers than its print heyday. Curious how it all happened? We dive into 170 years of history to find out!


Sponsors:


More Acquired!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC


The New York Times Company Playbook is available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-new-york-times-company


Links:

Carve Outs:

Ben:

David:

Episoder(213)

The Lean Startup and the Long-Term Stock Exchange (with Eric Ries)

The Lean Startup and the Long-Term Stock Exchange (with Eric Ries)

Season 5, Episode 10: The Lean Startup and the Long-Term Stock Exchange (with Eric Ries) Acquired closes out Season 5 and 2019 with a radical look into both the past and future decades of startup comp...

30 Des 20191h 26min

Convoy (with CEO Dan Lewis)

Convoy (with CEO Dan Lewis)

Coming to you live from the University of Washington, Ben and David are joined by hundreds of awesome Seattle listeners (and a few non-Seattle listeners!) to cover the meteoric rise of trucking indust...

19 Des 20191h 41min

TikTok

TikTok

We take Acquired to the Old Town Road to cover the amazing story behind the biggest global sensation of 2019 — and the highest valued private startup in the world — TikTok. How did a mid-30 year old U...

9 Des 20191h 43min

Disney, Plus

Disney, Plus

The Flywheel is strong with this one. We dive deep into the origins of one of the boldest business strategy decisions of our time: Disney CEO Bob Iger’s attempt to buck the Innovator’s Dilemma - and f...

25 Nov 20192h 18min

The WeWork “Acquisition” (with Dan Primack)

The WeWork “Acquisition” (with Dan Primack)

It’s an IPO, it’s a bailout, it’s an... acquisition? We’re joined by the one and only Dan Primack from Axios to recount the epic saga of the We Company in all its tragic glory. How did this business s...

25 Okt 20191h 40min

Season 5, Episode 5: Atari (with Nolan Bushnell)

Season 5, Episode 5: Atari (with Nolan Bushnell)

We’re joined by the legendary Nolan Bushnell, founder not only of Atari, but also the only person ever to hire Steve Jobs, the recipient of Sequoia Capital’s first-ever investment, and the creator of ...

15 Okt 20191h 42min

Sequoia Capital (Part 1)

Sequoia Capital (Part 1)

Acquired dives into the history behind storied venture firm Sequoia Capital and its legendary founder, Don Valentine. Part 1 tells Don’s story, starting from humble beginnings born to uneducated paren...

26 Sep 20191h 53min

Google Maps

Google Maps

Ben and David cover the series of three 2004 Google acquisitions that formed the core of Google Maps as we know and love it today: Where 2 Technologies, Keyhole and ZipDash. From nearly zero adoption ...

26 Aug 20191h 42min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
pengepodden-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
rss-sunn-okonomi
utbytte
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-markedspuls-2
lederpodden
liberal-halvtime
rss-politisk-preik
okonomiamatorene