Posted on 05/04/2009 6:31:14 AM PDT by Zakeet
The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks.
After down-to-the-wire negotiations did not produce millions of dollars in union concessions, the Times Co. said that it will file today a required 60-day notice of the planned shutdown under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law.
The move could amount to a negotiating ploy to extract further concessions from the Globe's unions, since the notice does not require the Times Co. to close the paper after 60 days. The deadline, however, would put the unions under fierce pressure to produce additional savings, and the Boston Newspaper Guild promptly called the step a "bullying" tactic by the company.
Some industry observers have expressed skepticism that Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. would want his legacy to include the shuttering of the Globe, which his company bought in 1993.
But the Times Co. itself is under strong financial pressure. It recently mortgaged its new Manhattan headquarters, borrowed $250 million from a Mexican billionaire at 14 percent interest, laid off 100 newsroom staffers and cut salaries by 5 percent.
Globe management said in a toughly worded statement: "Filing the WARN notice is a difficult step that we would like to avoid. But, unfortunately, given the state of the negotiations, it is one we must be prepared to take."
The paper's circulation dropped 14 percent in the most recent six-month period. The Globe is expected to lose $85 million this year, the company says.
Boston residents have long resented the takeover of the Globe by a company based in New York, with which the region competes in sports, banking and cultural bragging rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The NY Times is filing the notice required by Federal law (nicknamed WARN). At the end of 60 days, the union boys with lifetime job guarantees are on their own.
Can’t wait for the NY Times to be next.
WOOOHOOOO! GRRRRREAT news!
This really is just so sweet.
As noted many times before, liberals aren’t liberal with their own money.
This couldn’t happen to a more deserving group of people.
Like a bus load of attorneys crashing off a bridge into an abyss, “It’s a start!”
The fact that the Globe basically ignored the Tea Party protests, including those in Boston, despite the fact that they were patterned on an event in Boston history tells you everything you need to know about why the Globe is failing.
Maybe their little buddies at the White House should bail them out.
The more conservative Boston Herald survives. Makes sense.
Good. The Boston Glob ran photos of “war crimes” that had already been exposed as a middle eastern hoax (they were stolen from a porno website).
but anything to sink the war effort and throw support for Boosh.
The Boston Globe committed treason. There had already been a State Department press conference on these photos. Talon News Service asked about them.
Useful idiots who betrayed America. They should consider themselves lucky they aren’t in jail for their stunt.
This is funny...The Times figured out a way to back the union down. And I hate the Times but, oh well...hahahaha
American people to file notice that the New York Times is next.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... inhale ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... inhale ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... inhale ...
whew ..... stop it, you're killing me.
Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING
Sweet Justice!
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