Does Carlos Slim Want to Buy the Times?

(NEWSER) - The New York Times' ruling Ochs-Sulzberger family has a “habit of buying high and selling low,” writes John Gapper of the Financial Times. The clan sold the paper’s old Times Square building at a bargain price and bought back shares near their zenith. Now Arthur Sulzberger Jr., "the daffy fourth-generation family member who is publisher of the paper and chairs the company," may sell the Times, which would be perhaps the family's dumbest move yet. More»

Globe staffers analyze parent company's treatment of once great paper

(NEWSER) - The Boston Globe is delving into the stunning fall of a once-great institution: itself. Keith O'Brien and Robert Weisman trace the decline back to 1993—when the New York Times Co. bought the "jewel of an asset" for a staggering $1.1 billion—to the unimaginable present, as the Times Co. threatens to shutter New England's premier daily. More»

(NEWSER) - Rumors of the New York Times’ demise are greatly exaggerated, reports... the New York Times. “Despite some published alarms to the contrary, the company has positioned itself to ride out another year of recession, maybe two,” Richard Péréz-Peña writes in a review of his employer’s finances. The Times hopes to "fill the void" left as other papers fold or cut back, a so-called last-man-standing strategy. More»

Experts speculate Carlos Slim may be looking to buy or control media company

(NEWSER) - The world’s second-richest man, Mexican media tycoon Carlos Slim, has purchased a 6.4% stake in the New York Times Company. He says the buy was a purely financial—not strategic—move, but analysts say he may be positioning himself to make a play for the Gray Lady, reports Bloomberg. A Slim spokesman describes the struggling newspaper company as a “an attractive value,” adding, "The door is always open to assess whether we will buy more.'' More»

Most won't have to pay, paper says

(NEWSER) - The New York Times’ long-expected paywall is due next month, and details are starting to leak out about the plan. Everyone will have limited free access to the site, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , but once users reach that limit, they'll have to pony up. Users can buy either a subscription to just the site, or a digital bundle that also includes the Times’ iPad app. Subscribers to the physical paper will have full access to the website. More»