Media Roundup: NYT Sells Headquarters, McClatchy Cuts 15 Percent and More

(MoneyWatch)  NYT sells headquarters, then leases it back - As part of a continuing effort to add cash, the New York Times has sold most of its Manhattan headquarters for $225 million to W.P. Carey & Co. The Times will lease the building for $2 million a month with an option to buy the building back in 15 years. The newspaper has been unloading assets as part of an effort to gain more breathing room in paying down debt. [Source: All Things Digital]

McClatchy cuts 15 percent -- The newspaper publisher McClatchy is set to cut 1,600 jobs starting at the end of the quarter. The cuts will come through a combination of attrition, outsourcing and consolidating. In a memo to employees, the company also announced intentions of cutting wages, and executives have not received bonuses for 2008. McClatchy will incur $30 million in severance costs, and the cuts will affect every area of the business. [Source: Editor & Publisher]

Sacramento Bee chooses pay cut to avoid layoffs -- The California Media Workers Guild at the Sacramento Bee has chosen to take a pay cut in order to avoid job losses. By agreeing to cut salaries, the employees have saved nearly 20 jobs. The paper will still lose 34 jobs in news and advertising. The Bee's parent company, McClatchy, just announced 15 percent in across the board job cuts. Several other companies, including Gannett, have implemented furloughs and pay cuts this year to save jobs. [Source: Sacromento Bee]

PopSci to offer special digital magazine -- In anticipation of the widespread use of e-readers, Popular Science will create a small digital offshoot publication named "PopSci Genius Guide." The guide will publish four times a year and offer reviews on gadgets such as TVs and car stereos. Last month, Amazon released the new Kindle 2, and Hearst announced plans to develop an e-reader device. Popular Science is aiming for 900,000 readers for the new publication. [Source: MediaWeek]

Yahoo! finds success in newspapers -- As rival Google is ending its newspaper advertising program, Yahoo! is expanding its newspaper consortium to 793 total papers including recent addition The Boston Globe. Yahoo! offers space across its content properties to newspapers, such as placing links to newspaper articles on the company's front page. Yahoo! also offers to buy unused newspaper advertising space and licenses listings from HotJobs. [Source: TechCrunch]

NBC turns left, sees viewership grow -- NBC Nightly news has been the ratings leader for 20 consecutive weeks. Combined with the 13-year domination of the Today Show, NBC News is making significantly more money than competitors. Many analysts credit MSNBC's turn to left-leaning commentary and opinion as one of the primary reasons for recent success. Official numbers were not given, but news accounts for 25 percent of NBC Universal's profits. [Source: New York Times]