The Numbers Behind The Times' Threat to Fold the Globe

When here at Bnet we started suggesting last year that The New York Times was headed for financial trouble, I heard from some readers who scoffed at the notion that the nation's top newspaper could falter. What had led to my concern was problems with the company's financials as revealed in filings to the SEC (U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.)
Since being downgraded to junk status in October, the value of Times stock has fallen to around five bucks a share. The company accepted a huge investment from a Mexican tycoon, making him the largest individual investor, but one with ties may yet prove embarrassing to the media company.

The Times also sold off its landmark skyscraper in Manhattan, then leased it back. It also has continued making rounds of layoffs, often with little public comment. All of this, of course, has been duly noted here as the situation continues to deteriorate.

Today, another shoe dropped. The Times is threatening to close the Boston Globe, which it owns, unless management can wrest $25 million in savings by renegotiating union contracts. Already, 50 newsroom jobs were eliminated at the Globe last week.

None of this is surprising if you go by the numbers. The Times claims the Globe is on track to lose $85 million this year, a subsidy it simply cannot afford. Overall, The Times reported a $57.8 loss last year. These days, the skeptics are nowhere to be found: The Times is struggling for its very survival, just like every other Gutenberg-era industrial media institution in the land.