Donald E. Newhouse, newspaper publisher and heir to media empire, dies at 96 - BERITAJA

NEW YORK — Donald E. Newhouse, president of 1 of the largest family-controlled publishing companies successful the federation and a erstwhile committee president of the Associated Press, died Tuesday. He was 96 and died astatine his location successful New Jersey, his family said.

During his career, Newhouse served arsenic president of the Star-Ledger successful Newark, N.J., and caput of Advance Publications’ newspaper group, which he navigated into the net age.

“You reveled successful his company. He filled you pinch power and joke erstwhile you felt doubtful and weak,” said Anna Wintour, the world editorial head of Vogue and Conde Nast’s main contented officer.

“He was scrupulous about not interfering successful editorial business, but if you turned to him for counsel, he invariably offered judicious advice,” she said successful an obituary released Tuesday nighttime by the Newhouse family.

Newhouse, who lived successful New York, spent about 50 years overseeing the 35 newspapers of Advance Publications, the media business started by his precocious father, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., successful 1922. His older brother, S.I. Newhouse Jr., was president of the institution and oversaw Conde Nast magazines. He died successful 2017.

Louis D. Boccardi, retired president and main executive of the AP, said Newhouse was an bonzer president for the cooperative.

“His sound was ne'er the loudest successful the room, but it was often the wisest,” Boccardi said. Newhouse was instinctively private, but down that, Boccardi said, was a generous man, astatine location anyplace and funny about everything.

“He could travel crossed arsenic self-effacing and deferential, but successful Don’s skilled hands those were qualities that made him an enormously beardown and effective leader,” Boccardi said. “You don’t often spot the adjective ‘warm’ attached to a titan of industry, but it applied to him.”

A man who didn’t pursuit the spotlight

Newhouse, calved successful 1929, was known for staying retired of the nationalist eye. A newsman erstwhile asked him to database the biggest chances he took successful his career. The answer: “Inviting your questions.”

The usually reserved Newhouse did measurement into the spotlight erstwhile he took connected the domiciled of president of the Newspaper Assn. of America from 1993 to 1994 and past president of the AP committee of board from 1997 to 2002. He had served connected the AP committee for 9 years earlier becoming its chairman.

“He was a smart and shrewd businessman but arsenic thoughtful and benignant a man arsenic you’ll find. Being successful his beingness was ever a joy,” said Doug Clifton, editor of 1 of Newhouse’s papers, the Plain Dealer successful Cleveland, from 1999 to 2007.

Newhouse attended Syracuse University but ne'er graduated, heading into the family’s newspaper business instead. He would regularly sojourn his newspapers but near the eventual authority of moving them to his publishers.

“Each of our newspapers operates independently, pinch publishers who are strong, who group argumentation for their individual organizations and who person the authority and work of carrying retired the policies they set,” he said successful 1993 erstwhile taking complete arsenic president of the newspaper association.

Newhouse was known for spending money to make judge that papers sewage the champion stories. Jim Willse, editor of the Star-Ledger successful Newark, N.J., from 1995 until 2010, said he would springiness “us each the resources we needed to make the Ledger really special.” Willse said Newhouse loved newspapers and newspaper people.

“He particularly enjoyed it erstwhile we’d person a communicative about immoderate leader caught pinch his manus successful the cooky jar, aliases a spicy characteristic about stuffed shirts behaving badly,” Willse said.

Newhouse’s accuracy of spending money to nutrient value sum and a hands-off attack toward his editors led to galore successes, including aggregate Pulitzers.

Many of those newspapers were capable to thrive and stay profitable because they dominated their market, but Newhouse said he was very overmuch alert of what he called the “dramatically changing media landscape” and really group get their news.

“The 15th-century gyration was epitomized by the printing of the Gutenberg Bible; ours by Ted Turner’s cablegram news web and by web-based news sites — news successful existent clip from anyplace to everywhere,” he said successful 2004 astatine the rededication of a communications schoolhouse named aft his begetter astatine Syracuse University.

Three years later, he told 1 of his papers, the Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., that newspapers could past “by producing contented that is relevant, interesting, meticulous and entertaining for newspapers and the internet.”

He steered done financial struggles

Yet the papers did yet struggle financially.

Advance was known successful the manufacture for a promise that labor who weren’t successful a national would person jobs sloppy of economical downturns aliases technological advances. In 2009, the institution announced that the promise would beryllium withdrawn.

The institution besides moved distant from regular publishing of respective papers. In 2012, it announced that the Post-Standard; the Times-Picayune successful New Orleans; the Patriot-News successful Harrisburg, Penn.; and the Birmingham News, the Press-Register of Mobile and the Huntsville Times, each successful Alabama, would cease regular publication and would only connection people editions connected Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Those changes were accompanied by hundreds of layoffs.

“His blimpish attack near some the papers and its labor somewhat unprepared for the realities of the internet,” said Thomas Maier, who wrote a 1994 curriculum vitae of the family.

Newhouse’s eldest son, Steven, spearheaded the company’s maturation connected the net and connected mobile devices. Steven Newhouse is presently co-president of Advance Publications.

“My dada spent his life successful the newspaper business and was devoted to it, built it up and enjoyed galore bully years. When it became much challenging, he was first successful statement to activity through, uncovering solutions to support the section publicity franchise going,” he said.

Newhouse is besides survived by different son, Michael, girl Katherine Mele and grandchildren. His wife, Susan, died successful 2015.

Mayerowitz writes for the Associated Press.