Global Biz
New York Times calls off sale of Boston Globe
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-15 14:17
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 This June 8, 2009 file photo shows The Boston Globe's newspaper logo lit on the front of the Globe's building in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. [Agencies]
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BOSTON: The Boston Globe is off the market.
The New York Times Co. said Wednesday it won't sell the newspaper after all, following "careful consideration and analysis."
In a regulatory filing, the company said it was still weighing its options for its other major New England property, the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Massachussets.
"The Globe has significantly improved its financial footing by following the strategic plan it set out at the beginning of this year," Sulzberger and Robinson wrote. "All along, we explicitly recognized that a careful restructuring of the Globe was one possible route and, thanks to your hard work, that is precisely what has been done."
The memo alluded to a series of steps taken by the newspaper, including a restructuring of labor contracts that is projected to save $20 million on an annual basis, consolidation of printing facilities and price increases for both newsstand and home delivery.
The Globe is also exploring ways to charge for online content on its Web site, Boston.com.
"The great things you have accomplished both on the financial side and the editorial side of the Globe and Boston.com have solidified their positions as the leading media vehicles in the region."
Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for St. Petersburg, Florida-based Poynter Institute, a nonprofit school for journalists, said he was not surprised by the fact the Globe has been withdrawn from the market.
"I have thought since early in the year this might not be the right time to sell the Globe ... because the industry is doing so badly, very few people are in a position to offer good prices for newspapers," he said.
The Times Co. disclosed in August that it had retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. to explore a potential sale of its New England Media Group, which includes both newspapers. Company executives later told Globe employees that the newspaper's finances had improved significantly and that a sale was no certainty.
