Name Change For The International Herald Tribune

I started traveling before the days of the internet and 24 hour international English language news was non-existent. If we wanted news in English, we had two choices: bring along a shortwave radio and try to pick up the BBC, or buy a copy of the International Herald Tribune.

Published for over 125 years, the International Herald Tribune, or IHT as it is referred to by many of its readers, was a constant in my travel life. Every morning on my way to breakfast, I would stop and pick up a copy. It was my information link to the world. Regardless of where I was, or what language was being spoken, the IHT helped me to feel connected to the rest of the world and in my own language.

By the time I started reading it, the paper was co-run by the New York Times and the Washington Post. The writing and reporting were excellent.

Ten years ago, the New York Times took over full ownership and very little changed.

At least with the paper. With the advancement of wifi and smartphones, newer travelers don’t rely on the paper as much as they do technology. They might be more apt to read their hometown newspaper on a tablet while outside the U.S. than they are picking up an actual international newspaper.

And the folks at the New York Times area realizing it. But they’re not doing away with the paper, just making some changes.

The big change, starting this fall, is with the name. No longer will this “journal international” be called the IHT. Instead, it’s new name will be the  International New York Times. The owners say the name change will help promote their core product, the New York Times.

Call me overly nostalgic, but for me, it will always be the International Herald Tribune.

Anyone else have fond memories of the IHT?

Comments

[Alan B]

I did subscribe to the on-line version of the New York Times for about a year or so, but found that it was too much for me to read on a daily basis, particularly all the coverage of the New York area, which alas doesn't help me much in California. With that I instead now subscribe to the San Francisco Chronicle, much less expensive at $6 a month versus $20, and I also have E-access to my local newspaper, no additional charge. I DO still read the truncated bulletin that the NYT provides gratis.

For those who prefer E-access to a newspaper, I checked and found that the International Herald Tribune DOES have an E-version, app and first edition free, then $0.99 for the firstt four weeks. After that the charge for continuing access is $3.75 weekly, i.e., $16.25 monthly, billed as $15 every four weeks. For many this would be a nice supplement to their local newspaper. I may subscribe just prior to my trip overseas in April, along with a one month subscription to the major English-language paper for the area where I will be visiting.

Personally I would surmise that the IHT//INYT might well be better than the NYT for the non-New Yorker who really wants an in-depth understanding of our increasingly complicated and turbulent world.

[Frank@OBOW]

My essay is not about news coverage or subscription costs.

It's about nostalgia. It's about change. It's about the loss of simpler times.

[Eileen]

There's nothing like the smell of a newspaper. I remember reading the Sunday NY Times each week, spreading out each section and devouring every little bit. We don't devour the printed word any longer. We get news bites, whether on TV or on the Internet.

[kris]

I also have fond memories of reading the International Herald Tribune during a business trip to Europe in the early 1970s.

And Frank also mentions the possibility of bringing along a shortwave radio and trying to pick up the BBC. That brings back another fond memory:

Again, back in the early 1970s, but in Atlanta, not Europe, a colleague and I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Arthur C. Clarke, the author of "2001: A Space Odyssey." Half way through our meal Clarke pulled out a tiny shortwave radio, no bigger than a matchbox, and tuned into the BBC. He explained that he always did this wherever he was, in an attempt to stay connected with the world at large.

[Frank@OBOW]

If he was still here today, and was lunching with you in Atlanta, and pulled out a short wave radio looking for the BBC, he'd be out of luck. The BBC World Service stopped shortwave broadcasts to the Americas years ago. They now only broadcast in shortwave to parts of Africa and southern Asia.

Today, to stay connected, while sitting in a restaurant you have to take out your smartphone, take a photo of what you're eating, send it via Instagram to Twitter so your "followers" can see immediately what you're eating and then share it on Facebook so your "friends" can also enjoy it. You then upload it to Flicker so you can later put it on your blog that tells people what you ate that day--as if anyone really cares.

Meanwhile, your meal is getting cold and the art of conversation has been limited to 140 characters.

OMG YMMV LOL MOUSE.

[Dianne]

Back in the seventies I traveled around the world several times and would be out of touch with home for several months at a time. This was long before the age of the internet, e-mail, Skype, etc. I received occasional mail at Post Restante in major cities. The IHT was such a welcome addition to any day when I could get a copy of it. I think it's a serious error to change the name of this newspaper, a shortsighted move by the top dogs at the NYT. Older travelers like me will always call the paper the Herald Tribune.

[Ralf]

Yes, very fond memories, both as non-US traveler and expat. Many offices would also have a copy in the lobby for visitors (or employees). Better than buying the NYT if not simply for the condensed version of a few pages of news, and I started to appreciated non US-centric sports (and in later years Sky). I prefer the name of IHT. I also new some foreign locals who would buy the paper to read.