The struggling New York Times newspaper company has decided that it will trim 100 jobs from its newsroom, a total of 8 percent, by the end of the year, offering buyout packages to both union and nonunion employees. If the New York Times is unable to get employees to leave their jobs voluntarily, though, it will resort to layoffs.
The New York Times has enforced a similar program in spring of 2008 when the company eliminated 100 newsroom jobs through the same processes, but more jobs were created, resulting in a smaller net job loss. While the newspaper did not report …read more

The New York Times Company has decided that it will not, after all, sell The Boston Globe, a development that comes several months after Times Co. had initially threatened to close the newspaper for financial reasons. The decision follows a period in which Times Co. was not able to attract any suitable bids.
Company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has stated that the Times Co. will also not have to sell the Globe because the newspaper’s financial situation has improved to the point where selling it to save money is no longer as imperative as it was before. Executives of the company …read more

For more than a decade, newspapers around the United States have offered their content for free online. Due to profits elsewhere, newspapers didn’t worry about giving away their content. But times are changing.
Nowadays, there aren’t profits elsewhere. As a result, newspapers are starting to rethink their strategy regarding giving away their content for free. In fact, plans are in the works to create a pay-per-view type system for online newspaper content.
However, there is one problem — bloggers and their blogs. Most bloggers are happy to keep their content free. As a result, if readers don’t want to pay to read …read more

The Washington Post drew plenty of criticism when its plans to host $25,000-per-guest secret dinners that brought together reporters, editors and government officials became public in July. Now, Charles Pelton the marketing executive charged with putting these plans into motion, has decided to resign from his post following the immensely negative response to the plans.
 
The Post originally sent fliers to several important lobbyists and trade groups that advertised $25,000 sponsorship opportunities for salons at the home of Katherine Weymouth, the newspaper’s publisher. Journalists both involved with the Post and outside of it quickly criticized the plan, which was seen as …read more

The New York Times Company had originally intended to sell the Boston Globe newspaper company because of its financial struggles, but now the situation has turned around for The Boston Globe. However, Times Co. still plans to sell the newspaper, despite the fact that it could continue running the newspaper.
According to Times Co. executives, the process of selecting a buyer will not only depend on price, but also on how well the executives think that the new owner would be able to run the newspaper. Times Co. broke the news to several hundred Globe employees during two close hour-long sessions.
This …read more

After a rigorous volley of cost-cutting measures, newspaper giant The Washington Post Co. managed to avoid losses in its first quarter and post a profit in its second quarter. According to a report released today, the Washington Post experienced a net income of $11.4 million after taking in $1.13 billion in revenue its second quarter.
Just last year, the Washington Post had a loss of $2.7 million after taking in $1.11 billion, so this year marks a 2 percent overall increase in revenue. While the Post Co. is probably most closely associated with its newspaper division, its Kaplan education unit actually …read more

In an unlikely but apparently practical partnership, Yahoo and several newspapers around the country have joined forces in the battle of advertisement. The partnership, called the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium, was launched in 2006 and it now involves 814 newspapers, or about half of the newspapers published in the United States.
 
This partnership means that every newspaper involved in the consortium has access to Yahoo’s repository of expensive and directly-targeted ads that they can sell alongside their own. In return, each newspaper agrees to give Yahoo half of the revenue it takes in from any ads they sell through this service.
 
Several newspapers …read more

Billionaire Warren Buffett recently said that the newspaper industry could face the reality of “nearly unending losses” during the annual shareholders meeting for Berkshire Hathaway. While his company owns a few newspapers, his comments paint the picture that he doesn’t see any type of short-term or even long-term turnaround.
The newspaper industry is facing a number of problems. First of all, the national economic woes has companies spending less on advertising, which means less money for newspaper advertising. Secondly, people around the country are opting to save money by canceling their newspaper subscriptions. Next, many other people have turned to the …read more

To keep up with competitors and avoid bankruptcy, which has been affecting so many print media companies, the Boston Herald has decided to raise prices of the daily newspaper from 35 cents to a $1 an issue.
The price increase will take start on May 11 within the 30-mile Boston radius, though the prices outside this 30-mile area will remain the same price. Prices have already been $1 or more per issue outside of Boston.
The Sunday Herald price remains $2, while The Boston Globe will also up their prices from 75 cents to $1 for people in the city and $1 …read more

The Sun-Times Media Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, making them the fifth major newspaper publisher to announce financial problems in the past few months. The Sun-Times Media Group is the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times and a number of suburban publications.
For residents to Chicago who enjoy their morning paper, this is bad news. Now, both of the city’s major daily newspapers are only operating under bankruptcy protection, as the Chicago Tribune’s parent company, Tribune Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. Tribune Co. also owns the Los Angeles Times and a number of other newspapers in …read more