President Donald Trump’s opinions often waver, but his assessment of the New York Times has remained remarkably consistent.
The newspaper is “failing,” a position he’s expressed more than a dozen times on Twitter.
Including this morning. The President tweeted: “Wow, the Failing @nytimes said about @foxandfriends “….the most powerful T.V. show in America.”
Wow, the Failing @nytimes said about @foxandfriends "….the most powerful T.V. show in America."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2017
Deciphering what, exactly, Trump is trying to say is often tricky—particularly on a social platform limited to 140-character messages. Is the publication failing to cover Trump in a way that pleases him? Perhaps. But it’s safe to say that the New York Times is certainly not a financial failure, in part because of Trump himself.
Hours after Trump sent out his tweet, the New York Times posted its earnings for the second quarter. The paper added 93,000 digital subscriptions in the period, which helped drive profit to $15.6 million, compared to a loss of $211,000 in the second quarter of 2016.
Altogether, the paper enjoys 2.3 million paid digital subscriptions, up 63.4% from a year earlier. Its stock is currently trading at a nine-year high, hovering around $20 per share and giving the company a market capitalization of about $3.2 billion.
Our new subscribers helped us surpass 2 million digital news subscriptions in less than half the time it took to get to the 1st million. pic.twitter.com/kJneBOyrRN
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) July 27, 2017
Like most traditional media organizations, the Times has weathered setbacks thank to falling print subscriptions and ad revenues. But Trump’s presidency appears to have breathed new life into the organization. Since the election, the Times has made itself a must-read, trading political scoops with the Washington Post on an almost daily basis.
Trump’s public animosity for the paper has served as valuable free publicity for the company. It also hasn’t stopped the President from speaking with Times’ reporters. Last week, for example, Trump sat down with three of the paper’s journalists for an in-depth interview that made headlines across the globe.
The president might say the New York Times “failing,” but he’s done a lot to make that description, well, fake news.
