A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, discusses the paper's near three-year legal battle against OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged copyright infringement, as well as escalating pressure on the press from the Trump administration. Speaking to WIRED, Sulzberger frames both fights as part of the same struggle to defend journalism, arguing that news organisations face threats simultaneously from AI firms that depend on journalism to train their models and from political efforts to intimidate reporters, even as the Times itself remains commercially strong.

Sulzberger reveals the Times has already spent more than $20 million on its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, a case still in the discovery phase. He also addresses the Justice Department's subpoenas targeting Times journalists and their phone providers over reporting on a Qatar-gifted jet intended for use as Air Force One, describing it as the most significant assault on press freedom by a US administration in over a century. Despite these pressures, the Times has surpassed 13 million subscribers and is regarded as one of journalism's more stable operations, though Sulzberger argues the wider industry needs greater cooperation between rival outlets to survive AI-driven disruption.