The tricky act of succession at the New York Times has been sorted out with the appointment of Arthur Gregg Sulzberger as deputy publisher.
It puts the 36-year-old in line to succeed his father, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, as publisher and chairman of the newspaper.
If he does take over from his father, he will become the fifth generation of his family to hold the publisher role since 1896, when Adolph Ochs acquired the newspaper.
The appointment, announced to staff in a memo on Wednesday, follows months of speculation about who would emerge as the heir.
Three family members were in line for the deputy role: Sulzberger, Sam Dolnick (who has worked on its virtual reality projects) and David Perpich (who launched digital subscriptions).
Sulzberger, who had produced a report called for a revolution in how the paper distributes digital content digitally, was chosen by a committee of seven people created specifically to avoid any possible internal family unpleasantness.
It comprised two members of the New York Times board; two members of the senior management team (including chief executive Mark Thompson); the paper’s editor, Dean Baquet; and two members of the Sulzberger family trust.
The young Sulzberger has held several jobs in the New York Times newsroom, having worked as a reporter and metro editor.
He will now work alongside his 65-year-old father, who has been publisher for 24 years. But it is unclear when, or whether, the elder Sulzberger will step aside as publisher.
According to the Financial Times, Thompson told the staff that the new deputy publisher would bring “a compelling combination of journalistic experience, genuine strategic insight and a sense of urgency about the need for change and development in the company”.
The New York Times now has 1.2m digital subscribers, having made its paywall work successfully.
Sources: Poynter/Financial Times
