The New York Times Company said on Monday that it was planning to rename The International Herald Tribune, its 125-year-old newspaper based in Paris, and would also unveil a new Web site for international audiences.
Starting this fall, under the plan, the paper will be rechristened The International New York Times, reflecting the company’s intention to focus on its core New York Times newspaper and to build its international presence.
“This recognizes our global reach and is an exciting and logical move,” said Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times.
Mark Thompson, president and chief executive of The New York Times Company, said in a statement that the company recently explored its prospects with international audiences, and noted there was “significant potential to grow the number of New York Times subscribers outside of the United States.”
He added: “The digital revolution has turned The New York Times from being a great American newspaper to becoming one of the world’s best-known news providers. We want to exploit that opportunity.”
A Times Company spokeswoman would not provide details on how the name change would affect the International Herald Tribune’s employees. Currently, half of the staff members who work in Paris are subject to French labor law, while Herald Tribune employees spread throughout the rest of the world are governed by local labor laws.
The masthead of the paper will also change, the spokeswoman said, but she declined to elaborate.
Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, publisher of The International Herald Tribune, said in an interview that the name change was driven by “extensive research” showing that there was substantial potential, under the new name, to increase the number of international subscribers to the digital editions of The New York Times.
Mr. Dunbar-Johnson said the name change would be accompanied by new investments aimed at enhancing the paper’s international appeal. New employees will be hired to work on nytimes.com — currently the combined Web site of The New York Times and the Herald Tribune — in Europe and Asia, he said.
The renamed paper will remain based in Paris, where it was founded 125 years ago as the European edition of The New York Herald, Mr. Dunbar-Johnson. It will also keep its sizable office in Hong Kong where the Asian edition is edited. Mr. Dunbar-Johnson said there also would be investments in other locations. Until the fall it will continue to be published as The International Herald Tribune.
“Everyone at The New York Times thinks fundamentally that for this to be successful, the paper needs to be edited and curated for an international sensibility,” Mr. Dunbar-Johnson said. “The core attributes of The International Herald Tribune will be retained and refined.”
Through a series of ownership changes, the paper became The New York Herald Tribune in 1959. In 1967, it became The International Herald Tribune when The Times and the Washington Post Company invested in the paper to keep it afloat after The New York Herald Tribune folded. In 1991, the Post and Times companies became co-owners of the paper, and in 2003 The Times bought out The Post’s share and became its sole owner in 2003.
The announcement is part of the company’s larger plan to focus on its core brand and build its international presence, the Times spokeswoman said. Last week, the Times Company said it was exploring offers to sell The Boston Globe and its other New England media properties. Last year, the company sold its stake in Indeed.com, a jobs search engine, and the About Group, the online resource company.
Herald Tribune to Be Renamed The International New York Times
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