The mayhem in the media industry continues. The Wall Street Journal, a News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) property, is closing its Boston bureau and sending nine employees into the wind. The newswire and MarketWatch operations are going to stay open in Boston, however, with no headcount impact.

The Journal doesn't have any plans to close other offices, according to a memo by managing editor Robert Thomson: "there are no plans, nascent or otherwise, to close any other U.S. or international bureau." The WSJ will still support an "investigative function" in Boston, but the New York-based Money and Investing team will cover Boston's mutual fund industry, which boasts such heavy hitters as Fidelity.

At the same time, magazine company Time Inc., owned by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is looking to cut $100 million in expenses, and layoffs will undoubtedly figure into the equation. The company that owns Time, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated - and falls under the same umbrella as AOL, which owns BloggingStocks - is feeling the squeeze of a media recession that's even worse than the regular recession we've all been battling for what feels like decades.

Continue reading Time and WSJ to lay off more

Time and WSJ to lay off more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It costs a fortune to cut fat. For regular people, it can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars on gym memberships, special meals and organic restaurants. Yet, this pales in comparison to how much the Boston Globe is spending to lose some dead weight. It could cost the NY Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) property more than $1.2 million to bid adieu to the publisher that almost ran it into the ground.

Steven Ainsley has announced that he's going to retire as publisher of the Globe after having been at the helm for three years. Though quite proud of the two Pulitzer Prizes the paper picked up under Ainsley, the announcement didn't include the fact that he almost caused the newspaper retire before him. As usual, the newspaper is all too eager to talk about its awards, without even acknowledging the fact that it's on the brink of disaster.

Continue reading Boston Globe's Ainsley $1.2 million departure package

Boston Globe's Ainsley $1.2 million departure package originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After months of speculation and years of underperformance, the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) has decided not to sell the Boston Globe and related businesses. The company claims that the changes made at the Globe to slash expenses and right the ship financially have made it worth holding on to the newspaper. This comes after two parties submitted their final bids (similar financially) for the beleaguered 137-year-old property.

The NY Times Co. picked up the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion. Since then, it's watched the paper's revenue and circulation plummet, a situation worsened by the advent of the internet and the newspaper industry's generally slow response to it. Now, it's apparently worth just under 10% of NYT's original purchase price, with the offers pushed higher by both parties' willingness to assume $59 million in pension liabilities.

Continue reading NYT pulls Boston Globe off the block

NYT pulls Boston Globe off the block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The next step remains uncertain for what will go down in history as among the worst newspaper acquisitions.

On Friday, the deadline for submitting bids for the Boston Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), passed. Two major contenders were expected to write figures on slips of paper and slide them across the proverbial desk: Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm and owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and Stephen E. Taylor, whose family sold the Globe in 1993.

Continue reading Boston Globe's future remains uncertain

Boston Globe's future remains uncertain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The battered Boston Globe isn't worth 90% of what the NY Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) paid for it, but it seems to have bounced a bit from the bottom of the barrel. In a meeting with a few hundred of the newspaper's employees, company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and CEO Janet Robinson revealed that the Globe's finances have improved significantly. Because of this development, they continued, there is a chance the newspaper will not be sold.

This was the first meeting between company executives and the Globe's unions since the latter accepted pay cuts back in July. The newspaper, which has a 137-year history, lost $50 million in 2008 and looked like it was going to drop another $85 million this year. Though this no longer appears likely, the Globe is still in rough shape.

Continue reading Boston Globe may be off the block

Boston Globe may be off the block originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) to "explore a potential sale" of the New England Media Group, according to a document filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

New England Media Group includes such assets as the Boston Globe, which was purchased for $1.1 billion back in 1993, as well as the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which was acquired for $295 million in 2000.

Continue reading New York Times hires Goldman to advise on Boston Globe sale

New York Times hires Goldman to advise on Boston Globe sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Boston Globe remains in limbo as auction is delayed

Boston Globe remains in limbo as auction is delayed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The newspaper industry is in deep trouble. How so? It costs a lot to write, print, and deliver a newspaper, and with more people getting their news for free online and a plunge in advertising, costs are higher than revenues. The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) bought my local newspaper, The Boston Globe, in 1993 for $1.1 billion and is now threatening to shut it down unless its unions agree to $20 million in cost cuts. I don't think this is a viable plan -- instead The Boston Globe should stop producing its paper version and charge for access to its online content.

The Boston Globe is suffering from drops in circulation and advertising, and it has 13 unions propping up its costs. How bad is the pain? Its average weekday circulation fell 10% to 323,983 for the six months ending September 2008. Advertising revenues across the industry declined 16% in 2008. And the Boston Newspaper Guild -- whose members include 700 editorial, advertising, and business employees -- is being asked to take pay cuts and put an end to company pension contributions and lifetime job guarantees.

Continue reading How to save the Boston Globe

How to save the Boston Globe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boston Globe joins the ads on the front page parade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Much of the trouble with the financials at the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) is blamed on overexpansion in the newspaper industry just as falling advertising and rising prices for newsprint and editor staffs were headed through the roof. By many accounts, the Boston Globe is only worth $50 million. Two years ago, Jack Welch and a group of businessmen approached the New York Times about paying $550 million for the paper.

Now, the New York Times, facing debt payments of $400 million next year, is trying to sell its 17.5% stake in the parent of the Boston Red Sox, and perhaps its 100% ownership in the Globe. It may have found one of those suckers who are born every minute.

According to the Financial Times, "The company began discussions two weeks ago with Jack Connors, a former advertising executive in Boston, to sell the Globe and its 17.5 per cent stake in the Red Sox."

While having a piece of a successful sports franchise may be a good way to make money, owning the Globe is an outstanding way to lose it. The Boston paper has lost more than 20% of its advertising revenue this year, and its circulation is falling. The Globe almost certainly loses money, and that is bound to get worse in 2009 as the recession deepens. As classified advertising, one of the cash cows for newspapers, moves to competitors on the internet, the Globe may never see a penny of improvement in its revenue when the economy recovers.

If the New York Times can get a dollar for the Globe, it is much better off than it is now.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor for 247wallst.com.

The New York Times may have found a "greater fool" originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Has management of New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) finally woken up and smelled the coffee? Not only did the third-largest newspaper publisher report awful earnings, but the New York-based company also announced that it might cut its dividend, a move that will hit the controlling Sulzberger-Ochs family where it hurts -- in the pocketbook.

Net income at the publisher of the namesake newspaper fell 51.4 percent to $6.52 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $13.4 million, or 9 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a press release. Total revenues decreased 8.9 percent to $687.0 million from $754.4 million. Advertising revenue fell a whopping 14.4 percent as companies reduced marketing spending because of the uncertainty about the economy.

Continue reading The New York Times' financial situation continues to grow more dire

The New York Times' financial situation continues to grow more dire originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) today reported second quarter profit of $118.4 million, or 82 cents per share, compared with $59.6 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, profit was 34 cents, beating Wall Street estimates of 31 cents. Sales droped 3.7 percent to $788.9 million. For earnings release, click here, For the Bloomerg News story click here and for Reuters click here.

Flash: New York Times earnings top estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In spite of the $814 million write-down that swung the New York Times Company to a loss for the fourth quarter, the Times has no plans to sell its Boston Globe unit. The company has received offers to buy the Globe from former General Electric CEO (and UMass grad/Boston icon) Jack Welch.

The fact that the Times isn't interested in selling the Boston Globe is, I think, a bullish sign for the industry. Industry executives still see value in the brands, even as they lose business rapidly to other media outlets. Last, month, I wrote a piece asking whether newspapers are the new railroads. If the depressed valuations that newspapers are receiving from the market are attracting the likes of Jack Welch, and the New York Times likes the Globe too much to sell to him, investors may want to take notice. There may be bargains in the industry.

New York Times bullish on the Globe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT)'s fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday will be lousy. Analysts are expecting profit to be 46 cents compared with 64 cents a year earlier with revenue little changed at $903.9 million, according to Thomson Financial.

One of the company's few bright spots is the company's online business such as the About.Com web site, which have been showing strong revenue growth. The company's much larger print newspapers business continues to falter. Last month, the company said advertising would rise in the low single-digits at the Times and be flat to slightly down at the Boston Globe.

Chief Executive Janet Robinson has repeatedly said that the Ochs-Sulzberger family has no interest in changing the dual class of ownership that keeps them in control of the company. The company also has stressed that it has no interest in selling the Boston Globe to a group of local investors including former General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) Chief Executive Jack Welch. Meanwhile, it's been cutting jobs and has sold off its small broadcast television business.

There's little relief in sight for the company's long-suffering shareholders, who have seen the stock plunge 17 percent over the past year, underperforming Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE:DJ), Washington Post Co. (NYSE:WPO), Gannett Inc. (NYSE:GCI) and even the beleaguered Tribune Co. (NYSE:TRB).

Dow Jones has lately shown some resilience under CEO Rich Zannino who has overseen the shrinking and redesign of the Wall Street Journal. It will be interesting to see if the Times also makes big changes as well. For instance, I wonder if readers have the time to devote to epic features that run in the paper such as the story in Sunday's business section on Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

New York Times Co.'s earnings will be awful originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A recent piece in the Boston Globe has a insightful look at some of the ramifications of the flood of private equity deals. The author, Steven Syre, takes a look at the massive buyout of the Hospital Corporation of America, which is a hospital operator. The buyout price came to about $21 billion.

Of course, because of the deal, the company will need to load-up on debt, which means a lower credit rating. This is particularly bad news for existing bondholders of HCA. On the announcement of the deal, the bonds sunk about 15%.

And there's more bad news: the bonds will not be redeemed. Rather, they will be assumed by the private equity buyers.

Thus, before you buy some high quality bonds, you might want to think again - especially since big-time companies are now the targets of buyouts.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.

The dark side of private equity originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.