new-york-times

The New York Times Cash Crunch

Ryan Tate · 12/10/08 04:57AM

Though apologist analyst were apparently out in force, and though the firm bragged about selling $1 million in Barack Obama knicknacks (whee!), there was no hiding the New York Times Company's financial distress at a bank's media conference in New York Tuesday. The most alarming report in the wake of the event: Word that the Times will try to renegotiate at least some of its more than $1 billion in debt and is preparing to do without much of a $400 million credit line expiring in May.

New Mag for Conde, Cash Crunch at the Times

cityfile · 12/09/08 10:55AM

♦ What recession? Condé Nast is launching a new magazine in the UK. [WWD]
♦ More on the fallout from the Tribune Co. bankruptcy. [NYT]
♦ Yesterday the New York Times revealed plans to mortgage its office building; now it says it's in talks with lenders about upcoming debt payments. [AP]
Jann Wenner has hired a new chief digital officer. [AdAge]
♦ Is the advertising world sexist? Maybe! [HuffPo]
♦ Jay Leno may earn $40-50 million a year for his new gig on NBC. [MP]
♦ NBC still has some Super Bowl ads available, if you're interested. [AdAge]

How to Save the New York Times from Following Tribune into Bankruptcy

Hamilton Nolan · 12/08/08 11:29AM

Hey, one more ominous day in the increasingly ominous life of the New York Times Co. The fact that the Times Co. announced plans to mortgage or sell its fancy headquarters building on the same day that the Tribune Co. took a step towards bankruptcy is really bad karma. Check this out, people: The New York Times Co. will eventually go bankrupt if it does not make a drastic change. No amount of fanboy love for Frank Rich or outcry from the journalism establishment will change this fact. Who will step in with a plan to save the paper of record? We will, improbably!

Tribune Faces Bankruptcy, Hefner Skips Out on Dad

cityfile · 12/08/08 10:26AM

♦ The Tribune Co. is now hovering dangerously close to bankruptcy. [NYT]
♦ Media companies have let 30,000 people go thus far this year. [AdAge]
♦ Christie Hefner is stepping down as CEO of Playboy. [Bloomberg]
♦ It's now official: David Gregory is the new host of Meet the Press. [NYT]
♦ The New York Times Co. says it plans to borrow $225 million against the value of its new office building to "ease a potential cash flow squeeze." [NYT]
♦ More on the changes to NBC's executive ranks last week. [Variety]
♦ Ad agencies are bracing for a round of deep cost cuts. [NYP]
♦ Wowowow.com, the site featuring writing by the likes of Liz Smith and Lesley Stahl, has raised $1.5 million from Bob Pittman, among others. [NYP]
Four Christmases was No. 1 at the box office this weekend for a second week in a row. [Reuters]

Times To Mortgage Its House

Ryan Tate · 12/07/08 11:58PM

Layoffs and dividend cuts apparently aren't enough to get the New York Times Company out of the financial woods. The Times reports the company plans to mortgage or sell (and lease back) part of its shiny new Renzo Piano headquarters building, which cost half a billion dollars to build. It assigned Cushman & Wakefield the tricky task of finding someone willing to take a $225 million chance on a company whose debt is rated junk in a down market. The Times Company's timing is, once again, atrocious: The price of its old headquarters building tripled between when the company sold it in 2004 and three years later, when the newspaper finally moved into its new headquarters. That extra $350 million would sure come in handy now.

The Times Brief Sunny von Bülow Byline Stumble

Gabriel Snyder · 12/06/08 06:11PM

You know how newspapers write obits on people long before they die? Usually it leads to hilarious screw-ups when it gets sent to the web early. But today's New York Times rembrance of Sunny von Bülow (a good a candidate as any for an advance obit given she was in a coma since 1980) briefly had a very different kind of error, running a very non-Timesian byline "ENNEMY." (Says the tipster who spotted this: "The final insult to Sunny. Her obit was written by a member of eminem's posse.") When it was corrected, the actual byline turned out to be Enid Nemy, a feature writer who started at the paper in 1963 and retired around 2002.

New York Times Gets Scoop on Sulzberger's 'Friend' Caroline Kennedy

Gabriel Snyder · 12/06/08 03:53PM

Last night, the New York Times got the scoop that Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK and Jackie O, had thrown her hat in the ring to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat once she becomes Secretary of State. How'd that happen? Well, we couldn't help but wonder if it has something to do with the close friendship between the married Kennedy and the recently single Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

Liz Throws a Stone from Her Glass House

cityfile · 12/05/08 01:49PM

Confidential to Liz Smith: We're thinking it probably isn't the best idea to start off any of your FoxNews.com video segments by describing the New York Times as "staid" and "old." Sure, the Times was founded way back in 1851, but that means it's just 72 years older than you are. Click on the video to see the clip for yourself.

Nick Kristof, Twit

Hamilton Nolan · 12/05/08 10:36AM

Nick Kristof, the Times' most earnestly boring columnist, has started a Twitter feed. Finally. Here's the single most interesting thing he's said so far: "Here's my fave word of the week: 'leporine.' Apparently it means rabbit-like. Great word, no? I'll try sneaking it into a column. —ndk." Nick, you sly devil! I feel like I am literally standing on the set of All The President's Men.

The NYT's Sad Attempt at Gettting Drunk

Sheila · 12/03/08 10:34AM

Today's Dining section of the NYT is dedicated to drinking and the "cult of the cocktail," which is sort of like Martha Stewart hosting a show live from a dive bar. I mean, there's an honest-to-God listicle in there about 8 Bartender Philosophies, and something about alcohol and bundt cakes. The most puzzling bogus trend piece, however, is about the popularity of the college-girl and manchild drink called the White Russian, which was apparently drank by a character in the excellent but ten-year-old cult move The Big Lebowski. That fact serves as the big news peg, as cult followers of the film regularly gather to imbibe what one enthusiast calls a "big boy milkshake."

The Infuriating New Face Of Poverty

Ryan Tate · 11/26/08 06:04AM

At left is a picture the Times is running on A1 this morning, the day before Thanksgiving. It depicts a Florida mom showing off all the useless crap she was able to scrounge for daughter McKenna (!), like a fake plastic kitchen, thanks to a "noble sacrifice" this year: The mom will bravely go without this season's new designer jeans, according to the accompanying story. Notice that she seems to be nicely up-to-date with last season's pricey denim; that she is standing in a garage larger than many apartments; that it seems to be furnished with an operative extra refrigerator; and that discarded toys (from prior Christmases?) are plainly visible in plastic boxes in the background. This typifies sacrifice in America today? The coming depression is so going to eat the nation alive, and the world will laugh, because we deserve it.

Times Employees Offered Sweet Deal On Awful Stock

Hamilton Nolan · 11/24/08 12:12PM

Last week the New York Times Co. slashed its dividend and announced poor earnings and saw its stock plunge to lows not seen in decades. Times journalists must be afraid for their financial futures. Well the company has a suggestion: how about buying some New York Times Co. stock? Cheap! The company just sent out an unfortunately-timed internal memo offering employees the chance to buy stock at a discount. Don't forget that you should consider "your future financial objectives" first. Do you want to lose money in the future? Buy now! Read the whole hot stock offer below:

CIA-NYT Connection Exposed Via Job Ad!

Hamilton Nolan · 11/24/08 09:48AM

When times get tough and employment becomes a far-fetched hope for many, it's good to know that you can still turn to the Paper of Record to direct you towards the last remaining employers. Specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency. They still need bodies! The shadowy government spymasters are the lead advertisers under the "Jobs" tab on the New York Times' website (the ad clicks straight through to their homepage). There are only two possible explanations for this. Both of them are bad. Conspiracy: The recession has forced the Times' true role as a government propaganda agent to the surface! You think Judy Miller's WMD coverage was a mistake? The paper has been promoting the CIA's position to the publi for years! Open your eyes, people! This ad is but the tip of the iceberg! The Job Market Is Even Worse Than You Thought: I mean, they couldn't even get Wal-Mart or somebody to sponsor the Jobs page? Campbell's Soup isn't hiring factory workers? Clandestine operations in the War on Terror, it seems, are the last place to get reasonable health care coverage. And Jesus Christ, you can't even make 80K for parachuting into Pakistan with a submachine gun to hunt Al-Qaeda. Times are tough.

Obama Crap Making Insane Millions For Media

Ryan Tate · 11/24/08 12:28AM

Amid pandemic media bloodletting and global financial meltdown, it's nice to finally find a silver lining: All those silly Barack Obama trinkets are making insane amounts of money for media companies and providing precious little stimulus to the economy. The Times estimated roughly $200 million sold so far, including more than $15 million in commemorative issues and books from People and Time, somewhere around $1.5 million for the online store set up by the New york Times Company and $700,000 for the Los Angeles Times. Commemorative plates and coins, meanwhile have become ubiquitous enough that Lewis Black ranted about them on the Daily Show (clip after the jump). The downside?