I thought it was the Chicago Tribune that was bought out, hence the name.
Nope. It was the NYT.
http://www.nytco.com/company-timeline-iht.html
No, both the Herald and the Tribune were long defunct New York papers. The Tribune was Horace Greeley's ("Go west, young man") paper. The Herald was best known for giving its name to Herald Square in New York.
"On October 4, 1887, Bennett Jr. launched The New York Herald's European edition in Paris, France. Following Gordon Bennett's death, the New York Herald was merged with its bitter rival, the New York Tribune, in 1922. In 1959, the New York Herald Tribune and its European edition were sold to John Hay Whitney, the then U.S. ambassador to Britain. In 1966 the New York paper ceased publication, and the Washington Post and the New York Times acquired joint control of the Paris paper, renaming it the International Herald Tribune. Now owned 100% by the New York Times, the paper remains an important and influential English language paper, printed at 26 sites around the world and for sale in more than 180 countries."
http://www.answers.com/topic/new-york-herald