Schools and Colleges

S.I. Newhouse Jr., owner of media empire, dies at 89

Courtesy of Syracuse University

S.I. Newhouse (left) and his brother, Donald, attend the dedication of Newhouse 3 in September 2007.

By Jordan MullerSenior Staff Writer

UPDATED: Oct. 1, 2017 at 2:55 p.m.

Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. — owner of a media empire that includes Syracuse.com, The New Yorker and Vogue, and son of the man who helped build Syracuse University’s public communications school — died Sunday at age 89.

Alongside his brother, Newhouse ran Advance Publications, Inc., a media company founded by their father, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., in 1922. The business’ holdings included Condé Nast — which published dozens of magazines such as Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit and Wired — in addition to various newspaper organizations across the country.

On a local level, the Newhouse family has owned the Syracuse Post-Standard since 1942, according to Syracuse.com. Syracuse Media Group, which Advance Media launched in 2013, streamlined the newspaper’s print edition with its digital arm, Syracuse.com.

Newhouse, who was said to have a particular interest in the magazine division of his father’s business, began working at Condé Nast in 1961 and served as its chairman from 1975 to 2015.



Before starting his job at Condé Nast, Newhouse dropped out of SU, according to The New York Times. Around that time, his father helped to build Newhouse 1, which opened in 1964 and housed SU’s School of Journalism.

The university’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, named after Newhouse Sr., formed in 1971 when the School of Journalism merged with SU’s television and radio program.

The S.I. Newhouse Foundation and the Newhouse family also contributed $15 million in 2013 to build Newhouse 3. Newhouse Jr. attended the building’s dedication in 2007.

According to a 2016 statement from his brother, Newhouse suffered from dementia.

In a statement, Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham called Newhouse and his brother, Donald, “unflagging supporters and champions of the Newhouse School.” Branham extended condolences to Newhouse’s family on behalf of the school.

She wrote: “Their backing made so many things possible—including the school’s remarkable facilities—and their influence positively impacted generations of students and alumni who, in turn, made their own mark on the communications industry.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, S.I. Newhouse Jr.’s role in building Newhouse 1 was misstated. His father, S.I. Newhouse Sr., helped to build Newhouse 1. The Daily Orange regrets this error.





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