Who Owns the Media: New York Times Co.

The New York Times Co. 🐔

Capitulation Rank: Vulnerable
Category: Newspaper & Publishing 
Market Cap: $8.542 billion

The New York Times would be more positively rated here were it not for one consistent failing at the massively influential newspaper: those damn headlines. In an apparent and ill-advised attempt at both-sides objectivity, the paper’s headline writers routinely normalize the most extreme elements of Trumpism.

Take, for example, this October 2024 headline: “In remarks about migrants, Donald Trump invoked his long-held fascination with genes and genetics.” Former New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan commented that the headline “takes a hate-filled trope and treats it like some sort of lofty intellectual interest.” In other words, Times headline writers choose to tell their nearly 11 million subscribers that this perilous moment is simply the push and pull of politics as usual — and no real cause for concern. In May, the Times downplayed the blatant corruption at the heart of  the Trump regime: After the president accepted a $400 million luxury jet as a “gift” from Qatari royalty, a Times headline claimed the blatant bribe merely “strains the bounds of propriety.”

The newspaper’s publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, justified this approach in a 2024 speech in which he said it was not the paper’s obligation to warn readers about the authoritarianism of the Trump era. There are plenty of others sounding the alarm, he said, adding that “the alarm seems so loud and so constant that much of the public has by now put in earplugs.” While his more recent commentary strikes a more defiant tone in defense of an adversarial and independent press, the paper of record’s coverage tends more often to “sanewash” the Trump administration’s most despotic deeds. 

Beyond that the Times’ Style section has an embarrassing tendency to conflate fascism with fashion, publishing a number of superficial profiles and features that fawn over the sartorial choices of this authoritarian regime and its adherents. It’s as though The Times is telling readers that the end of democracy isn’t important, as long as you look good in Givenchy.   

DEI Doublespeak:

The Times Company’s corporate website maintains a commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, stating that it is essential to the paper’s mission “to seek the truth and help people understand the world.”

What It Owns:

The New York Times had nearly 11 million subscribers as of May 2024. Other Times-owned publications include The International Herald Tribune. The Times Company manages several podcasts, including multiple podcasts with Serial Productions.

Money & Influence Game:

More than 94 percent of the $247,284 in political donations by  New York Times employees went to Democratic candidates during the 2024 election cycle. (SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics)