In an act of admirable futility, Harbinger Capital Partners has informed the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) that it will nominate directors to fill the four slots that are chosen by the company's public shareholders.
The other nine slots are chosen by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has effectively squelched any notion of shareholder democracy at the company with a dual-class voting structure.
I admire Harbinger for trying to have their voice heard at the company, but think about it: If the controlling family cared what outside shareholders think, they would let outside shareholders elect the whole board. Winning four board seats out of 13 will put Harbinger in a position of about as much power as members of the Iraqi Parliament held under Saddam Hussein.
Other activist shareholders have tried their hand at the company in the past and eventually thrown up their hands in frustration.
One way to fix the problem: The New York Stock Exchange should change its listing requirement to require that company's have only a single class of stock and give the Ochs-Sulzberger family an ultimatum: Let your shareholders run their company or change your symbol to NYTM.PK.
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