Times publisher Sulzberger to step down

New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., who oversaw the newspaper through triumph and controversy for the past 25 years, will step down at the end of the year and hand the job to his son, Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, the company said Thursday.

The transition was expected at the Times, which has been controlled by members of the Ochs-Sulzberger family since the 1890s.

The senior Sulzberger turned 66 in September, one year past the traditional retirement age for top executives at the paper.

He will continue to serve as chairman of the parent New York Times Co.

His son, known as A.G., has been groomed as his successor for several years.

He was named deputy publisher in October of last year, all but anointing him as the heir apparent among many candidates within the sprawling extended family.

A.G. Sulzberger, 37, will be the fifth generation of the family to run the Times.

The younger Sulzberger, a former reporter, is wellliked in the Times’ 1,200-member newsroom. As befitting his family predecessors, he has held positions in various parts of the Times’ operations, including at one point serving as a national correspondent based in Kansas City, Mo. He also has been a reporter for the Providence Journal and the Oregonian in Portland.