Two new books trace the transition of The New York Times and Washington Post into the digital age.
Veteran Times reporter Adam Nagourney's "The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn and the Transformation of Journalism," out Tuesday, details the Times' shift from the nation's dominant print newspaper into a multimedia Internet giant.
The Post's similar transformation receives a front-row airing from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron in "Collision: Trump, Bezos and The Washington Post," published Oct. 3. Baron, who retired in 2021, looks at the Post's rise in digital readership as it clashed with the Trump administration.
Nagourney takes a longer view, picking up The Times' story from where it ended with Gay Talese's classic history "The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York Times, the Institution That Influences the World."
When Talese's book came out in 1969, print newspapers held tremendous power, from The Times to strong dailies like the Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Baltimore Sun, the Chicago Tribune, the Louisville Courier-Journal, the St. Petersburg Times and The Los Angeles Times.
With the rise of the Internet, newspaper advertising revenue and circulation sank. To survive, the Times, the Post and other companies switched to online subscriptions rather than traditional advertising.
Nagourney's book ranges from the last days of domineering editor Abe Rosenthal's reign, into its handling of the Jayson Blair and Judith Miller scandals. A main focus is the shift into the digital age under publisher A.G. Sulzberger, who took over from his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. in 2018.
A.G. Sulzberger engineered the Times' makeover, pushing out former editor Jill Abramson, a battle that Nagourney covers. The author also focuses on the volatile era of Howell Raines, embattled by the discovery of Blair's concocted stories and Miller's tainted reporting that led to the Iraq War.
The Times has built a dominant digital circulation by offering recipes, games and lifestyle features that critics say have weakened its traditional commitment to national and international news.
Local reporting, after a resurgence under Raines and Abramson, has declined, and the Times recently subleased its sports page to the Athletic, the online sports site it purchased in 2022. Those who subscribe to the Athletic and the Times receive the same content.
The Post and other newspaper companies have not kept pace with the Times. During the Biden administration, the Post's digital subscriptions have fallen off, and the company has undergone layoffs.
Nagourney updates Talese and Baron updates Ben Bradley and Katharine Graham. A welcome feast for lovers of traditional books, and newspapers, even in their new formats.
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