The American Ruling Class2005

Mike Vanzetti:
So as chairman and publisher, how do you balance all these competing interests you've got - the family, the trust, the newsroom, the audience, the advertiser?

Himself - Chairman, New York Times Company:
The stock market?

Mike Vanzetti:
Thank you.

Himself - Chairman, New York Times Company:
We worry a little bit about our earnings and our stock prices. Once every quarter, the executive editor, in this case, Bill Keller, gets into the ring and the CEO, Russ Lewis at the moment but soon Janet Robinson, and they duel it out. They just have a fistfight, and whoever wins for the next quarter we worry more about the journalism or we worry about the profits. It's a very simple operation. It's a balancing act. It's easy. Anyone can manage for one. Anyone can manage for the other. You manage for nothing but the quality of the journalism. You can manage for nothing but the quality of the profits. And that's easy. The challenge is to manage for both.