Bad 'Times' at venerable New York paper

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT), arguably the crowning achievement for a news journalist, has just moved its employees into a new $600 million, 52-story building. The early reports are in, and they show complaints of tricky elevator technology, leaky offices, and rodents.

An article in The New York Post - the leading Times rival - proclaimed "Terror at the Times" and reported that employees were facing nausea due to the odor of rotting mouse carcasses. New York Times chief information officer, David Thum, suggested that these reports were embellished, noting he's heard no such complaints. "There are going to be issues [with a new building] ... and a very typical issue is mice," Thum was quoted as saying in Reuters. "It's not like the Pied Piper is coming to our lobby," he went on to say.

On the plus side for the new building, the structure was constructed with high ceilings, access points for plenty of natural light, a new air-conditioning system, and window shades that reduce the publisher's light bill by an estimated 30%.

The new building's cafeteria is also winning rare reviews for food quality and price. Perhaps less appealing food options could help control the mice population.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.