No Ordinary Newspaper Company
If you’ve ever thought the New York Times was just an ordinary American newspaper company, you are in for a surprise.
On the 10th of April, I had the opportunity to attend an informational panel and networking event at the New York Times with Comm Club. We were met by the four guest speakers, Eileen Murphy, the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Jordan Cohen, the Director of Communications, Gloria Clark, a recruiter and Annie Tessler, a corporate communications assistant. Each of them were very passionate about the work they do and were ready to answer the many questions we came with.
Now for a little history lesson on the formation of the company, the New York Times is one of the longest running newspapers in the country as it was founded in 1851. It is now considered one of the top newspapers in the world by circulation. The New York Times has always been a dynamic newspaper company. From making the switch to colored print, the newspaper has now gone digital with over 4 million subscribers. Something interesting that Eileen Murphy talked about was how NYT even has a podcast called The Daily, which gives those who do not have time to physically read the paper a chance to listen to news on the go.
The NYT is really concerned about their readership and from the many developments they have made over the years, it is clear they want to deliver news not only in the most credible way but also in the most entertaining, engaging and informative ways they can. The first question that Jordan Cohen asked, as a true Director of Communications should, was how, when and where we consume their news. In the fast paced society we live in, the New York Times is not afraid to break tradition and incorporate new technology into their work to garner a widespread audience.
In 2015, the company introduced a virtual reality app called the Nyt.vr with which they were able to make 360° videos for 365 days. Now, they are working on a new television series with FX that debuts June 2019. The New York Times is branching into different platforms to and finding more dynamic ways to tell their news and stories to the world.
The informational session really helped shed light on the many ways media has and is affecting journalism. How well a news outlet can keep up with the dynamism of media and user consumption, whether it be television, radio or in this case, newspaper ,while delivering credible news is what journalism is all about. No wonder the New York Times is still flourishing till this day.
