Embracing the digital age
The International Herald Tribune today marks 125 years amid troubling times
First delivered by horse-drawn carriages to Paris newsstands and hotels, the International Herald Tribune marks its 125th anniversary today amid troubling times for the newspaper industry.
But the pioneer of global journalism – a dependable presence for international travellers whether in Paris, Kuwait or Tokyo – is confident it can adapt to a digital age that has turned the newspaper business model on its head.
“Like everybody else, we’re sort of searching for the silver bullet,” executive editor Alison Smale said in an interview at the IHT’s new offices in La Defense, a skyscraper business district just outside Paris.
The flood of news websites, 24-hour broadcasters and Twitter have all changed how news is produced and consumed but Smale said the IHT believes its future lies with its traditions.
“What you obviously can do, and all of us do it every day, is surf around the web and get the information you’re seeking,” she said.
“But you don’t have the serendipity of a newspaper, where sophisticated, incredibly intelligent and talented editors have made a great choice for you of ‘this is what you need to know about the world today’.”
Founded on October 4, 1887, by New York Herald publisher Gordon Bennett, the newspaper aimed to provide American expats living in Paris with news from home, from stock prices to the latest baseball scores.
Under several owners and different names, it became a lifeline for the rising number of Americans travelling abroad, suspending publication only once for the Nazi occupation of Paris from 1940 to 1944.
It settled on its current name in 1967, after the New York Times and Washington Post took stakes in the paper following the collapse of the New York Herald Tribune.
The New York Times took full ownership of the IHT in 2003 and today it employs more than 100 journalists, has editorial hubs in Paris and Hong Kong, prints at 38 sites and is distributed in more than 160 countries.
Now dubbed The Global Edition of the New York Times, the IHT has moved far beyond its original Paris base, with 41 per cent of its 226,267 circulation in 2011 in Asia. About half of its copies are distributed in Europe.
As well as publishing an eight-page special report, the IHT will host a debate on European competitiveness today and organise an exhibition of 125 photographs from its archives.
It has also released an iPad App with 185 front pages from its history.