International Herald Tribune

(abbr IHT)

an international US newspaper known for its serious and thorough news items. It is based in Paris and published in more than 180 countries. It began in 1928 as the Paris Herald. It is now owned by the New York Times.

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Daily newspaper published in Paris.

It has long been the staple source of English-language news for American expatriates, tourists, and businesspeople in Europe. Its roots are in the Paris Herald (established 1887); a merger in 1924 between its parent, the New York Herald, and the New York Tribune created the New York Herald-Tribune and the Paris Herald Tribune. The Paris edition, which was faring well at the time of its parent's demise in 1966, was renamed when it was rescued by a joint venture of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Whitney Communications. The New York Times Co. and the Washington Post Co. became half-owners of the paper in 1991. The New York Times Co. became the full owner in 2003.

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▪ newspaper

      daily newspaper published in Paris, France, that has long been the staple source of English-language news for American expatriates, tourists, and businesspeople in Europe. It is considered the first “global” newspaper. The IHT's roots are in the Paris Herald, which was established in 1887 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who had inherited the New York Herald from his father, James Gordon Bennett (Bennett, James Gordon). After Bennett, Jr., died in 1918, Frank Andrew Munsey (Munsey, Frank Andrew) bought the Paris edition along with its New York City parent. His attempts to buy the New York Tribune to combine with the Herald were thwarted, so he sold the Herald to the Tribune, and the merger came about in reverse.

      The Paris Herald Tribune enjoyed great popularity—as the Paris edition of the New York Herald-Tribune (New York Herald)—and was affectionately called “Le New York” by many Parisians. The paper shared its own reportage with the New York Herald-Tribune and had full access to the parent paper's stories. It was shut down for four years when the Germans occupied Paris in World War II, but it regained its old momentum and was faring well in the 1960s when rising costs, falling revenues, and a lengthy strike swept the New York Herald-Tribune into a series of mergers and eventual extinction. Rescued by a joint venture of The New York Times (New York Times, The), The Washington Post (Washington Post, The), and Whitney Communications, the Paris edition was renamed the International Herald Tribune. The Post and Times companies were the sole co-owners until the New York Times Company purchased full ownership of the IHT in 2003. The Tribune's headquarters remain in Paris, but the paper is now printed in cities around the world, including Athens, Bologna, Frankfurt am Main, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Marseille, New York, Paris, Singapore, Tel Aviv-Yafo, The Hague, Tokyo, and Zürich.

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