Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, former New York Times publisher, dies at 86

The former chairman and chief executive of the New York Times Co. turned his family’s newspaper business into a multibillion-dollar multimedia empire.

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Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, who led the New York Times Co. for 34 years in a period of growth that made it a multibillion-dollar media enterprise, died on Sept. 29. He was 86.

/ New York Times via Reuters

July 1, 1971

Mr. Sulzberger, center, smiles at a news conference in New York regarding the Supreme Court ruling permitting the Times to continue its series of articles based on secret Pentagon papers about U.S. involvement in Vietnam. On June 30, 1971, the high court ruled 6 to 3 that the newspapers could continue publishing the documents, establishing a newspaper’s right to publish without government’s prior restraint.

Marty Lederhandler / AP

March 2, 1973

During his time as publisher of the Times, from 1963 to 1992, Mr. Sulzberger is credited with upholding what many journalists consider the highest standards of the profession and challenging powerful interests in all corners of society. The paper won 31 Pulitzer Prizes under his stewardship.

Anthony Camerano / AP

July 20, 1977

Under Mr. Sulzberger’s leadership, the New York Times Co. went public, expanded into regional newspapers and bought consumer magazines, television and radio stations, a news service and other information services, plus interests in three paper mills. He started a books division. The company’s revenue rose from $101 million in 1963 to $2.6 billion in 1996, the year before Mr. Sulzberger stepped down as chairman and passed the job to his son.

Ray Howard / AP

May 26, 1992

Jacques Chirac, the mayor of Paris, awards the Paris City Medal to Mr. Sulzberger and Katharine Graham, the chairman of The Washington Post Co. The two companies shared ownership in the Paris-based International Herald Tribune from 1967 to 2002.

Jose Goita / AP

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