The Times of that era carried detailed shipping and sailing news. Although I can't find an on-line archive of issues from a few days prior, I recall that the voyage of RMS Titanic was covered extensively in the paper. As chairman of the White Star Line, I would surmise that J. Bruce Ismay was not an unfamiliar name to Times readers. My guess (and it's only that) is that Ismay's name was as well known as, say, Jeffrey Immelt's is today to those who follow business.
The Times of the late 19th and early 20th century still had a heritage of being the Republican paper having been founded by Henry Raymond, a chairman of the RNC. Growing up in East Tennessee, Adolph Ochs, who purchased the paper from Raymond, got his start at Knoxville's Republican paper. Its readership, unlike the mass circulation papers of the city, was targeted to the more upscale business community, those who would better know of J. Bruce Ismay.
Hearst knew..he had detested Ismay for over 20 years..and devoted every resources of his papers to hounding the guy for the rest of his life...
And speaking of William Randolph Hearst, here's his paper's headline coverage:
