| It Shines for All | |
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper (2002–2008) Online newspaper (since 2022) |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet (2002–2008) Website (since 2022) |
| Owner(s) | ONE SL LLC |
| Publisher | Dovid Efune |
| Editor | Seth Lipsky |
| Founded | April 16, 2002 |
| Political alignment | Conservatism |
| Ceased publication | September 30, 2008 (print) |
| Relaunched | 2022 |
| Headquarters | 105 Chambers Street Second Floor New York,NY 10007 U.S. |
| Website | www |
The New York Sun is an Americanconservativenews website and former newspaper based inManhattan, New York.[1] From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as well as occasional arts content. Coming under new management in November 2021, it began full-time online publication in 2022.[1][2]
From 2002 to 2008,The Sun was a printed daily newspaper distributed in New York City.[3][4] It debuted on April 16, 2002, claiming descent from, and adopting the name, motto, andnameplate of, the earlier New York paperThe Sun (1833–1950).[5] It became the first general-interestbroadsheet newspaper to be started in New York City in several decades.
On November 2, 2021,The New York Sun was acquired by Dovid Efune, former CEO and editor-in-chief of theAlgemeiner Journal. Efune confirmed Seth Lipsky in the position of editor-in-chief.[2] Following Efune's acquisition,The New York Sun resumed full-time online reporting in 2022, focusing on adigital-first strategy.[1]
The Sun was named with a desire for conscious association with the previous newspaperThe Sun which was published from 1833 to 1950. The relaunchedSun was founded by a group of investors including publishing magnateConrad Black. The goal was to provide an alternative toThe New York Times, featuring front-page news about local and state events, in contrast to the emphasis on national and international news by theTimes. The Sun began business operations, prior to first publication, in October 2001.[6]
The newspaper's president and editor-in-chief wasSeth Lipsky, former editor ofThe Jewish Daily Forward. Managing editorIra Stoll also served as company vice-president. Stoll had been a longtime critic ofThe New York Times in his media watchdog blog smartertimes.com.[7]
Published from theCary Building inLower Manhattan, it ceased print publication on September 30, 2008.[8] When asked why, Lipsky said, "we needed additional funds. . . . [T]he 2008 financial collapse was sweeping the world, and the Internet was emerging as a challenge to traditional newspapering."[9][10]
The paper'smotto, which it shared with its predecessor and namesake, was "It Shines For All".
Its website resumed activity on April 28, 2009.[11]
Despite the closure of the newspaper,The New York Sun website renewed activity on April 28, 2009,[11][12] prompting some observers to consider the possible implications.[11][13][14] Michael Calderone ofPolitico quoted Lipsky as saying not to read too much into the initial items since "...a business plan for the site is still in formation," and "... these are just some very, very early bulbs of spring (or late winter)."[14] It only contained a small subset of the original content of the paper, mostly editorials at irregular intervals,[15] op-ed commentaries[16] and frequent contributions from economist and noted television commentatorLawrence Kudlow. In addition, commentaries on the arts have been published.
On November 2, 2021,The New York Sun was acquired by Dovid Efune, former CEO and editor-in-chief of theAlgemeiner Journal. Efune confirmed Seth Lipsky in the position of editor-in-chief.[2] Following Efune's acquisition,The New York Sun resumed full-time online reporting in 2022, focusing on adigital-first strategy.[1]
In 2002, Editor-in-chief Lipsky said that the paper's prominentop-ed page would champion "limited government, individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the law, economic growth ... standards in literature and culture, education".[17] Another goal, said Lipsky in 2009, was "to seize the local beat from whichThe New York Times was retreating as it sought to become a national newspaper".[18] In 2004, Stoll characterizedThe Sun's political orientation as "right-of-center",[19] and an associate of Conrad Black predicted in 2002 that the paper would beneoconservative in its outlook.[7] Unsigned editorials in the paper advocated prosecutingIraq War protestors fortreason (2003),[20][21] nominatingDick Cheney for the presidency (2007),[22] and lowering, rather than raising, the debt ceiling in response to thedebt ceiling crisis (2013).[23]
The Sun's columnists included prominent conservative andneoconservative pundits, includingWilliam F. Buckley, Jr.,Michael Barone,Daniel Pipes, andMark Steyn.
The Sun supported PresidentGeorge W. Bush and his decision to launch theIraq War in 2003.[6] The paper also urged strong action against the perceived threat of theIslamic Republic of Iran[6] and also was known for its forceful coverage of Jewish-related issues,[24] and advocacy for Israel's right of self-defense,[6][19][24] as evidenced in articles by pro-Israel reporterAaron Klein.
Conservative Catholic commentator and anti-abortionistRichard John Neuhaus, writing in 2006 inFirst Things, described theSun as a paper that had "made itself nearly indispensable for New Yorkers".[25]
According to Scott Sherman, writing inThe Nation in April 2007,The Sun was "a broadsheet that injects conservative ideology into the country's most influential philanthropic, intellectual and media hub; a paper whose day-to-day coverage of New York City emphasizes lower taxes, school vouchers and free-market solutions to urban problems; a paper whose elegant culture pages hold their own against the Times in quality and sophistication; a paper that breaks news and crusades on a single issue; a paper that functions as a journalistic SWAT team against individuals and institutions seen as hostile to Israel and Jews; and a paper that unapologetically displays the scalps of its victims."[26]
In the same article,Mark Malloch Brown,Kofi Annan's chief of staff at theUnited Nations, describedThe Sun as "a pimple on the backside of American journalism." According to Sherman, Brown "accepts that the paper's obsession with the UN translates into influence ... he admittedThe Sun "does punch way above its circulation number, on occasion". He goes on to say, "Clearly amongst its minuscule circulation were a significant number of diplomats. And so it did at times act as some kind of rebel house paper inside the UN. It fed the gossip mills and what was said in the cafeterias."[26] Brown's insult was in the context ofThe Sun's reporting of the UN's central role in theSaddam HusseinOil-for-Food scandal.
In May 2007,Adweek columnist Tom Messner calledThe Sun "the best paper in New York", noting that "The New York Sun is a conservative paper, but it gets the respect of the left.The Nation's April 30 issue contains an article on theSun's rise by Scott Sherman that is as balanced an article as I have ever read in the magazine (not a gibe; you don't readThe Nation for balance)."[27]
Alex Jones of theJoan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy said in 2008, "It was a newspaper especially savored by people who don't likeThe New York Times, and there are plenty of those in New York."[6] The paper also scored morescoops than would be expected for its size andStephen B. Shepard, dean of theCUNY Graduate School of Journalism at theCity University of New York said in 2008 that its effective coverage of local news earned it a place in the New York media world.[6] Accordingly, it was known as a good place for young, ambitious, scrappy reporters to start out.[28]
The Sun received critical praise for its sports section, writers for which included Steven Goldman,Thomas Hauser,Sean Lahman, Tim Marchman, andJohn Hollinger. Itscrossword puzzle, edited by Peter Gordon, was called one of the two best in the United States.[29] It also published the first regular wine column in a New York newspaper, "Along the Wine Trail", written byG. Selmer Fougner.[30]
In its first edition, the paper carried the solution to the lastcrossword puzzle of the earlierSun published in 1950.[9]
The Sun was started anew in 2002 in the face of a long-term decline ofnewspapers in the United States, loss of advertising revenue to the Internet and the rise ofnew media. From the beginning, it struggled for existence.[6][7][31]The Sun was the first new daily newspaper launched in New York since 1976, whenNews World Communications, a company controlled by theUnification Church, launchedThe News World (that was later renamed theNew York City Tribune and folded in 1991).
At the time of its creation, one media financial analyst said theSun's chances of survival were "pretty grim",[31] while another media commentator characterized it as "the unlikeliest of propositions".[7]
It was underfunded from the start, with ten investors putting up a total of approximately $15 million—not enough for long-term running.[7] Beyond Conrad Black, who pulled out in 2003, these included hedge fund managersMichael Steinhardt andBruce Kovner, private equity fund managerThomas J. Tisch, and financier and think tank figureRoger Hertog.[32]The Sun's physical plant, in theCary Building at Church Street and Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan, was antiquated, with malfunctioning telephones and computers, a trouble-prone elevator and fire alarm system, and dubious bathroom plumbing.[32] Nevertheless, Lipsky had hopes of breaking even within the first year of operation.[33]
TheAudit Bureau of Circulations confirmed that in its first six months of publicationThe Sun had an average circulation of just under 18,000.[34] By 2005 the paper reported an estimated circulation of 45,000.[35] In December 2005,The Sun withdrew from the Audit Bureau of Circulations to join theCertified Audit of Circulations, whose other New York clients are the free papersThe Village Voice andAM New York Metro, and began an aggressive campaign of free distribution in select neighborhoods.[36][37]
WhileThe Sun claimed "150,000 of New York City's Most Influential Readers Every Day",The Sun's own audit indicated that it was selling approximately 14,000 copies a day—while giving away between 66,000 and 85,000 a day.[28][26][33] (The New YorkDaily News sold about 700,000 copies a day during that period.) It offered free subscriptions for a full year to residents in advertiser-desired zip codes;[26] this and other uses ofcontrolled circulation made it more attractive to advertisers, but further diminished its chances of ever becoming profitable.[33]Similarly,The Sun's online edition was accessible for free since August 2006.[38]The Sun acquired the web address www.LatestPolitics.com in 2007.[39]
In a letter to readers published on the front page of the September 4, 2008, edition, Lipsky announced that the paper had suffered substantial losses and would "cease publication at the end of September unless we succeed in our efforts to find additional financial backing."[40][41] In particular, the paper's existing backers would not put forward more money unless new backers with capital were found.[28] The chance that funding had of materializing was negated by the onset of thefinancial crisis of 2007–2008, andThe Sun ceased publication on September 30, 2008.[6][8][32] It had approximately 110 employees at that time,[32] and also made use of manyfreelance writers.[28] Mayor of New YorkMichael Bloomberg commented that "The Sun shone brightly, though too briefly," and that its writers were "smart, thoughtful, provocative".[32]
Allegations were published in the paper's January 9, 2008 issue, written bycontributing editorDaniel Johnson about then-candidateBarack Obama and Kenya's candidate (and subsequent Prime Minister)Raila Odinga, based on what was later described as "a patently fallacious story ... or at the very least to shirk their responsibility to the truth."[42][43]
The Sun was listed as a three-time victim of plagiarism whenThe News-Sentinel announced March 1, 2008, that "20 of 38 guest columns ... contributed ... since 2000" by Bush White House stafferTimothy Goeglein were subsequently discovered to have been plagiarized; three were attributed to original articles inThe Sun.[44] Goeglein resigned.[45]
Seth Lipsky chose a bad month to find new backers ... The Web 2.0 ethos was taking hold in the newspaper world
Our own view is that Mr. Cheney just might have beaten Mr. Obama, ...
The New York Sun, which closed up shop in September, has been publishing a bit lately online, ...
