NY Times Co. Holds Onto Boston Globe

After looking for bids since July, the NY Times Co. has decided not to sell the Boston Globe. The NY Times reports, "The Globe did not draw high bids, and the company chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., said last month that the paper’s finances had improved enough that the company no longer believed it had to sell if the offers were not attractive enough."

How unattractive? According to the Boston Globe, "Preliminary bids for the Globe and the [Worcester Telegram & Gazette] were for about $35 million, plus the assumption of $59 million in unfunded pension liabilities. The Times Co. had purchased the Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993, and the T&G for $296 million in 2000."

The Globe had been on track to lose $85 million this year, before cuts were made. Of course, the NY Times still has money issues—subscriptions to newspapers for the Metro desk were cancelled earlier this week! Next, will we see reporters looking for copies of the Post and Daily News left behind on the subway seats?