New York Times positions publisher's son as his successor

The New York Times has named Arthur Gregg "A.G." Sulzberger as deputy publisher, setting him up to take over for his father, publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

If made publisher, the 36-year-old Sulzberger would be the latest in a long line of family overseers. A.G. Sulzberger's great-great-grandfather took over The Times in 1896, and the family controls the influential paper through a special class of shares.

The change comes as the newspaper industry is struggling to adapt to readers' migration online, which has caused print ad revenue to crater. The New York Times has tried to counter that decline by focusing on growing its digital-only subscriptions.

The younger Sulzberger, who joined The Times in 2009 after working for Rhode Island and Oregon newspapers, has worked on the editorial side of the paper as a reporter and editor and has also led a team that studied how to tackle the digital transformation.

His appointment is effective Nov. 1. He will report to his father, who took over as publisher at age 40, in 1992, from his own father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, then 65. New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said Wednesday that Arthur Sulzberger, now also 65, has not announced any retirement plans and that there will be "a significant period of transition."

The New York company said that a committee made up of senior management, directors and family members recommended A.G. Sulzberger's promotion. New York Magazine in 2015 had reported that Sulzberger as well as other younger family members David Perpich and Sam Dolnick were in the running to eventually succeed Arthur Sulzberger.