Slim Loans NYT Co. $250M

Family still spending like it's 1999; Mexico's Slim waits in wings

(NEWSER) - The Ochs-Sulzberger family may be forced to sell its controlling interest in the New York Times, according to the rival Post, which helpfully points out that family members are also spending far more than they're pulling down at the paragraph factory. Thanks to the recession and the newspaper’s floundering fortunes, the clan has lost 86% of its personal wealth and might need to sell to get out of debt—shares that would likely end up south of the border. More»

(NEWSER) - Newspaper scion Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who "has spent a lifetime faithfully placing his feet in his father’s footsteps," Mark Bowden writes in Vanity Fair, may be exactly the wrong guy to pull the New York Times out of the financial death spiral it seems to be in. With "his life’s mission to maintain the excellence he inherited," the Times publisher and chairman has made a series of disastrous decisions, until a sale of the nation's premier newspaper, previously unthinkable, is likely. More»

As dividends dwindle, Mexican billionaire may move in on paper

(NEWSER) - Last week Carlos Slim, the world's second-richest man, lent $250 million to the New York Times Company—but why does he want 18% of a tanking media outfit? Advertising Age speculates that the Mexican tycoon is playing a long game: The loan is peanuts to Slim, but it puts him in position to buy the paper if the Sulzberger family decides to sell. "As far as future control, it's unpredictable," said one analyst. More»

As newspapers tank, company offloads non-core assets

(NEWSER) - With revenues plummeting and advertisers and readers fleeing, the cash-starved New York Times Co is looking to offload a once-sacrosanct asset—its 17.5% stake in the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park, the Wall Street Journal reports. Revenues at the Times Co arm that includes the Grey Lady and the Boston Globe fell 22% last month, and the company is scrambling for capital to shore it up. More»

(NEWSER) - Executives at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. have been meeting with rival newspaper publishers about a consortium that would charge for web content. The publishers of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times are all believed to have met with Jonathan Miller, the News Corp. officer overseeing digital strategy. But analysts remain skeptical that any payment scheme will make a significant dent in papers' balance sheets. More»