1851
The first edition of the New-York Daily Times was published on September 18, 1851.
“publish the first edition on September 18th, 1851 of the new hyphen York, New York Daily Times”
Topic
The New York Times
70 facts from 21 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1851
George Jones put up $25,000 of his own family money toward a $100,000 capital target for the new newspaper.
“he puts up $25,000 of his own family money to finance this new venture. They want to get to $100,000.”
1863
During the July 1863 draft riots, Henry Raymond obtained rifles and two Gatling guns from the War Department to defend the Times building.
“Raymond, because he's buddies with Lincoln, he gets the War Department to ship a bunch of rifles and two Gatling guns to the Times”
1890s
Adolph Ochs cut the Times's price from three cents to one cent to take readers from rival papers.
“he cuts the price from three cents down to one cent which would seem crazy like you're trying to make more money why would you cut the price”
1893
After the Times went bankrupt following the financial crisis of 1893, its circulation fell below 9,000.
“Circulation had fallen all the way down below 9,000.”
1896
Adolph Ochs paid $75,000 up front to the creditors of the bankrupt Times, money he had raised from others.
“he pays $75,000 up front to the creditors which he also had scraped together with borrowed money”
1896
Adolph Ochs created the motto 'All the news that's fit to print' for the New York Times.
“he comes up with the phrase all the news that's fit to print and he's not too sure about it though”
1899
After the price cut, Times circulation tripled to about 30,000 in Ochs's first year and reached 76,000 by 1899.
“grows three X in his first year back up to 30,000 circulation by 1899 it's at 76,000”
1904
In 1904 the Times moved to the Times Tower at 1475 Broadway in Longacre Square, which was later renamed Times Square.
“in 1904 the newspaper moved its headquarters to a building called the Times Tower at 1475 Broadway in what was then called Longacre Square”
1940s
The Times's own 150th-anniversary reporting said it largely ignored the Holocaust while being a leading war reporter in World War II.
“the holocaust was in contrast to being the foremost war reporters in america during world war ii the times basically ignored the holocaust”
1969
The Times went public in 1969 with a dual-class structure to obtain stock for making acquisitions.
“the reason they went public was to get a liquid public stock to make acquisitions with”
1986
The family trusts direct their trustees to retain the Times's Class B stock and not sell or convert it.
“directed to retain the class b common stock held in the trust and not to sell distribute or convert such shares into class a common stock”
1992
Arthur Ochs 'Punch' Sulzberger became publisher in 1963 and remained in the role until 1992.
“punch ends up being publisher sort of like his father for um almost 30 years he would remain publisher until 1992”
1993
The Times Company bought the Boston Globe in 1993 for about $1.1 billion.
“in 1993 they purchased the boston globe for 1.1 billion billion dollars for the globe”
2001
In 2001 the Times Company joined John Henry to buy a 17.75% stake in the Boston Red Sox.
“in 2001 they team up with john henry in boston to buy a 17.75 stake in the boston red socks”
2006-2016
Alex Hardiman worked at The New York Times from 2006 to 2016, leading its mobile team at a time when the company had no mobile presence.
“I was there from 2006 to 2016, and it was a period of really deep transformation for the company. I was leading our mobile team, and back in 2006, we had no presence whatsoever on mobile.”
2007
The Times sold its Broadcast Media Group of TV stations in 2007 for about $600 million.
“they end up selling the broadcast media group to um i think oak hill maybe private equity firm in uh 2007 for about 600 million dollars”
2007
A 2007 New York Times article laid out reasons Marvel Studios would fail, a year before Iron Man was released.
“an article right outside my office, um, from the New York Times in 2007, a year before Iron Man came out, talking about all the reasons Marvel Studios would fail.”
2009
In January 2009 the Times took a $250 million loan from Carlos Slim at 14% interest, with warrants for another 10% of the company.
“they do this 250 million dollar debt deal at a 14 percent interest rate on the debt plus warrants for another 10 percent of the company”
2009
The Times sold part of its headquarters to W. P. Carey in 2009 and leased it back for 15 years, with an option to repurchase it in 2019 for $250 million.
“they sold it to wp carry and agreed to lease it back for 15 years with an option to buy back the portion they sold in 2019 for 250 million dollars”
2010s
About ten years before the interview, The New York Times was print-first and advertising-first, with about a million digital subscribers and no clear path to growth.
“we were print first, we were advertising first, and to be honest, we didn't have a really clear path for growth. We had about a million digital subscribers at the time.”
2010s
The New York Times chose to be subscription-first and destination-first, and built proprietary software to prioritize direct relationships with subscribers.
“we chose to be subscription first and destination first. And we decided to build proprietary technology and software that could prioritize those direct relationships”
2011
The Times launched its metered paywall in 2011, allowing 20 free articles a month.
“they say you get 20 articles a month for free before you have to describe it's pretty generous”
2014
In 2014 A.G. Sulzberger led an internal Innovation Report on the Times's digital strategy that was leaked publicly.
“he writes what becomes known as the innovation report i think it's titled the innovation report and it's internal but it gets leaked out publicly”
2016
It took the Times four and a half years after the 2011 paywall launch to reach one million digital subscribers, and then about a year and a half to reach two million.
“it had taken the new york times four and a half years to get to their first million subscribers and then it only took them a year and a half to get to their second million subscribers”
2017
The Times launched its podcast The Daily in early February 2017 and reached 100 million downloads in its first year.
“they launch the daily in february i think it's february 1st 2017 and it gets a hundred million downloads in the first year”
2019
Per the host's account of a July 2019 New York Times investigation, DoorDash counted customer tips toward a courier's guaranteed minimum pay.
“That tip is going to DoorDash and DoorDash is combining the tip into the total value of the order.”
2019
Alex Hardiman returned to The New York Times in late 2019, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“that's when I ultimately found myself back, uh, at the New York Times in late 2019, right before the pandemic.”
2020
In 2020 the Times's digital revenue exceeded print revenue for the first time. The company had paid off its debt and repurchased its headquarters.
“digital revenue surpasses print revenue for the first time they've retired all the debt they buy back their headquarters they have no debt on their balance sheet at 2019”
2020
The final Times/Siena poll in 2020 showed Lindsey Graham ahead of Jamie Harrison by six points, and Graham won by ten.
“the Times Sienna final poll in 2020 did have, um, it had Graham, uh, ahead of Harrison by six, you know, he ended up winning by ten.”
2024
Two New York Times reporters obtained over 500 hours of video recordings from the group behind Trump's campaign election lies, ahead of the 2024 election.
“what they got their hands on were over 500 hours of video recordings of the group that was behind this movement.”
2024
The Times transcribed the video recordings into more than 5 million words and fed them into a large language model, which the reporters used to search for examples for their reporting.
“they fed the videos more than 5 million words of transcript into an LLM, which Ali and Nick, using their expert judgment, used to search and prompt”
2025
The New York Times reported that Nvidia had reached a valuation of about $5 trillion.
“the New York Times, which, uh, which is reporting that Nvidia is now worth $5 1 trillion as it.”
2025
The Times reported that Mary Peltola's team worked with the Democratic Senate campaign committee to find other people named Dan Sullivan to enter the Alaska Senate race.
“Peltola's team worked with the Democratic Senate campaign committee last summer to find other people named Dan Sullivan to get into the race and draw votes away from the incumbent”
2026
The New York Times contacted over a thousand TV figures and asked them to pick their favorite shows of the previous 26 years.
“They contacted over a thousand TV luminaries, showrunners, writers, actors, and asked them to pick their favorite TV shows of the last 26 years.”
2026
Walter said a New York Times report that Republican Senator Roger Marshall sued patients has hurt him in the Kansas Senate race.
“the piece that came out in the New York Times about suing his patients, I think that one just really, um, it because, again, it combines all of those things.”
2026
Jon Favreau said the Times/Siena Democratic lead rises to 14 points when likely voters are chosen by self-reported intent and falls to 9 points when chosen by past vote history and demographics.
“it goes up to fourteen points. And if they just go by predicting the likelihood of someone voting based on their past vote history and identity and et cetera, um, then it goes down to nine points.”
2026
A New York Times/Siena poll of South Carolina showed Democrat Annie Andrews and Senator Lindsey Graham tied at 48 percent each.
“the South Carolina one was pretty amazing because it has the race in a dead heat with Annie Andrews and Darline Graham at forty eight each”
2026
A Times/Siena Minnesota poll showed Peggy Flanagan leading by fourteen points, the largest lead of any poll for her.
“it has Peggy Flanagan up fourteen points, um, largest lead any poll has shown for her.”
2026
The New York Times reported that Democrats in Alaska recruited a spoiler candidate sharing a name with Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
“The New York Times reported Democrats in Alaska recruited a spoiler candidate with the same name as the incumbent Republican senator.”
2026
The New York Times quoted a fired Mary Peltola campaign manager alleging Peltola knew of the effort to recruit the second Dan Sullivan.
“The Times quotes a fired Peltola campaign manager alleging Peltola was aware of the recruitment”
2026
A New York Times poll of Minnesota reportedly showed Democrat Peggy Flanagan leading Republican Michelle Tafoya 54 to 40 in the Senate race.
“Peggy Flanagan, the Democrat in Minnesota, defeating Michelle Tafoya, the Republican by fifty four to forty”
2026
Tommy Vietor says the New York Times reported on Democratic efforts to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan to draw votes from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska.
“They ran this big story about efforts by Democrats to recruit another guy named Dan Sullivan to run in this race and siphon votes away from Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent.”
2026
The New York Times tied Mary Peltola's campaign to getting Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot, which Peltola denies.
“Uh, the New York Times tied her campaign to getting Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot, but Peltola denies it.”
2026
Nate Cohn said the Times's final polls of the seven likeliest Senate-deciding states showed Democrats ahead in all seven.
“Our final polls of the seven states likeliest to decide the Senate show the Democrats ahead, even if sometimes only narrowly,”
2026
Five of the seven key Senate battleground states in the Times's polling voted for Donald Trump by double digits.
“Kansas, Iowa, and Alaska. Five of those states, by the way, voted for Trump by double digits.”
2026
The Times's final Michigan Senate poll found Abdul El-Sayed ahead by eleven points, a six-point gain from its September poll.
“the poll in Michigan found Dr. El-Sayed up by eleven points, which is his largest lead of the cycle, a six-point gain from our last poll in September.”
2026
Mary Peltola's lead in the Times's Alaska poll fell from seven points to one point between its last two polls.
“That was a decline from a seven-point lead in our penultimate poll. She has had other issues in this campaign.”
2026
Nate Cohn said the Times's polls make sure to reach the correct number of registered Republicans in each state, which he said other pollsters do not guarantee.
“First is that we do everything we can to make sure we reach as many Trump voters as possible, including by ensuring that in any given state, we reach the correct number of registered Republicans.”
2026
Nate Cohn said the Times's final polls would have been three points more Democratic under the methodology it used in 2022 and 2024.
“And I'll note that our final polls, as blue as they were, would have been three points bluer.”
2026
The Times reported that about 50 million Americans had already voted early, outpacing the last midterm cycle in every major Senate battleground.
“the Times reports that about 50 million Americans have already cast ballots, a surge of early voting that is outpacing the last midterm cycle in every major Senate battleground.”
2026
Jon Favreau said the New York Times election model projected Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate 55 to 45.
“the New York Times model has this controlling the Senate fifty five, forty five”
2026
Jon Favreau said the New York Times needle estimated Democrats winning the national House vote by about 13 points.
“the New York Times needle estimates up to like thirteen a D plus thirteen”
Undated
David Rosenthal says the New York Times has won 130 Pulitzer Prizes, more than twice any other organization.
“they've won 130 pulitzer prizes which i believe is more than 2x the number of any other organization in the world”
Undated
Dara, a former board member, said The New York Times bet on subscriptions when advertising was a much bigger business.
“And the bet that they made on subscriptions was amazing. It was not obvious because the advertising business was much bigger at the time.”
Undated
Alex Hardiman says she is technically the first chief product officer of The New York Times, and that the newspaper is one of the company's best products.
“So I am technically the first chief product officer. But when you think about one of the best products that the New York Times has ever made, it's the newspaper.”
Undated
Alex Hardiman says The New York Times is closing in on about 12 million subscribers and has more than doubled its newsroom to over 2,600 journalists.
“We're now closing in on about 12 million subscribers. We've more than doubled our newsroom now to over 2,600 journalists.”
Undated
The New York Times has long used machine learning for ad targeting, its subscription model, dynamic paywalls and personalized recommendations.
“Machine learning is something that we have been using in our journalism and in our products now for a very long time to power ad targeting, to power our subscription model and our dynamic paywalls, personalized recommendations.”
Undated
Alex Hardiman says over 90% of The New York Times' news and opinion stories now have an automated voice mode.
“if you just open up the product on any given day, over 90% of our news and opinion stories now have an automated voice mode attached to it.”
Undated
NYT Cooking uses generative AI to automatically convert recipe ingredients from imperial to metric units for readers outside the US.
“historically, it was hard to cook with us because our recipes were in imperial units. And so we've been using generative AI to do very simple things like help automatically transfer ingredients from imperial to metric units.”
Undated
The New York Times' internal hackathon Maker Week produced over a hundred AI-based prototypes, though not all will be shipped.
“And we ended up with over a hundred different prototypes leveraging AI. Doesn't mean we're going to ship all of them”
Undated
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the use of its copyrighted reporting to train OpenAI's models.
“the New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using its copyrighted reporting into, uh, training the OpenAI models.”
Undated
Alex Hardiman says The New York Times announced a partnership with Amazon about two months before the interview, which she says provides appropriate compensation and controls over its content.
“we just announced, um, about two months ago, a partnership with Amazon, and they really recognize sustainable and fair value exchange that gives us appropriate compensation for our work”
Undated
Alex Hardiman says value exchange between publishers and AI platforms now includes licensing of news and co-development of products, beyond the older model of referral traffic.
“we're seeing licensing of high quality news and information. We're seeing co-development of products, right?”
Undated
Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of The New York Times, appears in the Acquired Radio City special.
“this video special also has the CEO of The New York Times, Meredith Kopit Levien.”
Undated
Ramaswamy says his first Google launch, which was his own work over three months, was covered by the New York Times.
“my first, um, launch at Google, which was entirely my work for three months. One person was covered by the New York Times.”
Undated
Rene Haas says he read a New York Times article comparing Waymo's conventional accident counts with those of human drivers.
“I was looking at Waymo, uh, and the number of accidents that Waymo had conventional accidents compared to human drivers.”
Undated
Darren Prince says The New York Times gave Dolly Parton's death top front-page placement he understood to be reserved for presidents.
“I also read that the New York Times put her on the front top page, which is only reserved for presidents.”
Undated
Pollan followed a single cow from insemination to slaughter for a New York Times piece that became a chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma.
“I followed this one cow through the whole process, you know, from s insemination to slaughter.”
Undated
The New York Times reported that Sam Ippolito recanted his statements after the newspaper declined to pay him for his story.
“But then the New York Times reports that Sam later recanted his statements after the newspaper refused to pay him for his story.”
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