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John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
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Part:         Session:         Page of 512

Oakes:

Well, I feel very strongly that that is an improper activity, for members of the family to be on the board of directors both of the New York Times, and of other commercial institutions. Even on the nonprofit ones, I think there is a serious question.

Q:

Not so much the university, but they shouldn't be -

Oakes:

- well, let me explain, as long as you've asked that question. But let's get rid of what to me is the much easier problem. I just think it's wrong for a member of the controlling family, the Ochs-Sulzberger family, to be both a director of the New York Times, and with all the implications of family intimacy too involved, and also to be a director of the Ford Motor Co., for example, which one of our present directors is. I just think that that's - even if there is no real conflict of interest, it's an implicit or potential conflict of interest. And I feel very strongly about that.

And I said so at the time, when my cousin, Marian Sulzberger, whom I'm very fond of, whom I like, but who I think has made a fundamental mistake - more than that. I think that it's wrong for the Times to have a director, particularly one of the family, who is also a director of several large commercial firms; on the board of directors of Ford, board of directors of Merck, and I don't know what else maybe Marian is a director of, one or two others. I just think it's wrong. I have stated this to either Punch or Iphigene at the time. I don't think I never really had the opportunity or occasion to state it to Marian, but I stated my great reserve about that. Obviously it was simply my opinion. I had no control, no influence -





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