[Book Introduction] How The New York Times Successfully Achieved Digital Transformation

Rebirth from Paper Newspaper to Digital Media
In-depth Analysis of The New York Times' Success Story

[Asia Economy Reporter Sim Nayoung] The "Grey Lady" was once a nickname for The New York Times. How did The New York Times, which was once far removed from cutting-edge changes, transform into a world-class digital media company?

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, newspaper companies that had relied on print newspaper advertising revenue have jumped into digital transformation. Among them, only The New York Times, a prestigious American newspaper celebrating its 170th anniversary this year, is running a successful course alone. As of the end of 2020, the company had 7,523,000 paid subscribers (combining print and digital), ranking it overwhelmingly first in the world. Among them, digital subscribers numbered 6.69 million, accounting for 89%.

Song Eui-dal, a 32-year veteran journalist and author (Senior Reporter at Chosun Ilbo), deeply covered this case in his book "The Digital Revolution of The New York Times," published on the 29th. From 2005 to 2010, The New York Times was almost like a terminal patient. As a result of aggressive mergers and acquisitions to grow in size, it once had 36 subsidiaries and became a giant company with $3.5 billion in sales, but its debt rapidly increased due to bloated management. Coupled with a decline in newspaper advertising and subscribers due to the spread of the internet, it began to face a management crisis. To survive, it undertook a large-scale restructuring, selling off all but 3 to 4 core companies.

After shedding its liabilities, The New York Times shifted its business from print newspapers to digital-centered operations. Ten years ago, in March 2011, it introduced a paid online article system. Initially, there were repeated trial and error due to a lack of proper integration and collaboration between newsroom journalists and digital technology personnel. However, by persistently pushing the revolution, digital technology personnel (700 people) such as web designers, developers, data scientists, and videographers became the second largest group after newsroom journalists (1,750 people).

Composed of five chapters, this book focuses on the revolutionary rebirth of The New York Times, but that is not all. The author emphasizes, "The success of The New York Times is due to a combination of strengths such as the brand power of a world-class media, an owner family faithful to the public mission of journalism, and a stable governance structure, but most importantly, it never forgot that the core of The New York Times is high-quality journalism."

This book contains detailed information about almost everything related to The New York Times beyond digital transformation. It includes the composition of newsroom journalists, editorial writers, and columnists by gender, race, and age group; the floor layout of the headquarters building; the number of languages used within the newsroom; employee salary levels; key figures and events that shaped today's New York Times; and various episodes.