According to Tom Arviso, who became editor of the paper in 1988, there were problems with censorship. Because the paper was run by the government of the Navajo nation, the Navajo leaders believed they should be allowed to say what the paper could and could not print. In 2003, Arviso convinced the Tribal Council to make the paper more independent. They voted 66 to 1 to create the Navajo Times Publishing Company so the paper would be more independent.