As its Time Grows Short, the NY Times Cuts Philanthropy

(MoneyWatch)  There's been so much bad news about The New York Times lately that the paper's five Pulitzer Prizes this month almost felt like sympathy notes sent over by the judges.

Or, as one of my friends wagged, "Let's see, that was, what, $12-14 million in losses per prize?" She was referring of course, to the massive fall in quarterly revenue we reported on earlier this week.
As the end of a rough week approached, there was a small item inside the Times itself that struck a poignant note, evoking in this case a sense of pity for management that for too long has been resisting changes in a business model that is now sinking the corporate ship.

"Foundation Of The Times Suspends Gift Program."
The Times Foundation gave away about $7 million last year to various causes, which is not a lot of money when it comes to philanthropy, but because of its matching donor program, actually represented a larger leadership role in funding worthy causes mainly in the New York and Boston metropolitan areas, where its two largest newspapers, The Times and the Boston Globe, dominate.

The problem is, of course, all of that may be changing. No one I spoke with in New York wanted to contemplate a future without The Times. Left, right, or center, there was no true New Yorker who wanted to see the paper go away.

Who would conservative and libertarian friends have to kick around any more if The Times disappears?

Who would liberals have to validate their positions if the gray lady actually died?

Then, there is the great center, everyone who doesn't view The Times through an ideological filter but as the source of information about all sorts of things. It probably says more about me than about our society that I hardly know any of this type of person, but given the pure math of subscription and newsstand sales, there must be a ton of them.

Sadly, since I have no sources in this group, I can't say what they might be thinking. But I do know this much. It was a very hot day today in New York City, up near 90 degrees. And I have a sneaking suspicion that those in the great, neutral center were not thinking about whether or not their largest newspaper is in trouble.

If what I saw on the streets of Manhattan is any indication, others thoughts were on the mind of the crowd, something closer akin to Spring Fever. Maybe that is an apt analogy. What newspapers need now is to reinvent themselves. It is the planting season, after all.