“An Interested Reader”: Measuring Ownership Control at the<i>New York Times</i>

Abstract

Scholars assert that patterns of media ownership affect news coverage and quality of information, but measuring the influence of media owners on their institutions is difficult. Owners, editors, and reporters usually deny that owners intervene in news decisions. This article examines memos between the late owner and publisher of the New York Times Arthur Hays Sulzberger and editor Turner Catledge. These memos indicate that the publisher frequently intervened in news decisions, and the editor usually tried to satisfy the owner's demands. The internal record reveals practices that allowed the owner to exert influence without being observed by reporters.