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." more ›

The New York Times thinks so; the company's own payment rules bar execs from getting over $3 million in bonuses and 400,000 stock options. Yet publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. and CEO Janet Robinson have both been paid under a plan that allows for $3.5 million in bonuses and over half a million stock options. Maybe that seems a tad excessive, but it's been a stressful year for the Times execs, what with all the staff cuts and ad losses they've sustained, so leave Pinch alone! more ›

After the Boston Globe's largest union rejected a contract on Monday, the Globe's owner, the New York Times Co., is now seeking bids for the newspaper. According to the Globe, the Times Co. was interested in getting bids no matter how the Guild, which represents "nearly 700 editorial, advertising, and business office staff," voted, but a potential bidder said, "That doesn't mean they have said they are going to sell it. They've just said they are willing to entertain bids. But it sure indicates an interest." In the meantime, because the Guild fell short of voting for the contract with concessions, the Times Co. will save $10 million by imposing a 23% pay cut. Three other unions for the mailers, the pressmen, and the delivery truck drivers had agreed to concessions. The Times Co. has projected it will lose $85 million with the Globe without cost savings. more ›

It looks like a shutdown has been averted at the Boston Globe: The Globe reports that its "largest union reached a tentative deal with the New York Times Co. shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, agreeing to a substantial pay cut, unpaid furloughs, and modifications to the lifetime job guarantee provisions that protect almost 200 employees in the Boston Newspaper Guild, according to sources familiar with the deal." The Newspaper Guild was the last holdout in talks with the NY Times Co. (which owns the Globe); three other unions already worked out agreements on concessions, after the NY Times Co. threatened to shut down a plant. The Globe lost $50 million last year and is on track to lose $85 million this year. more ›

After threatening to shut down its plant if unions did not make concessions, agreements have been made between Boston Globe management (the paper is owned by the NY Times Co.) and three of four unions, thus allowing the Globe to survive a little longer. The Boston Newspaper Guild is the lone holdout and the Globe reports, "The possibility of a shutdown remains if the company can't reach agreement with the Guild over $10 million in cost reductions, as well as contract changes, particularly the elimination of lifetime job guarantees enjoyed by about 190 Guild employees." However, spokesperson is optimistic and says those savings could be achieved in other ways. Over in NYC, the NY Times' Newspaper Guild members agreed to take a 5% pay cut in order to avoid laying off dozens of people; the pay cuts will be restored if ad revenues bounce back. more ›

Last month, the financially battered NY Times Co. had suggested it would close the Boston Globe, Massachusetts' biggest paper, because the paper lost $50 million last year and was on track to lose $85 million this year. Late last night, the Globe reports the Times made this threat: "Agree to major financial and contract concessions, including the abolition of lifetime job guarantees for some workers, or the Times Co. would begin the shutdown process." Currently two unions have made deals but negotiations are still continuing with the pressmen's union and the Boston Newspaper Guild. The Times bought the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion; it is also looking to sell its stake in the Boston Red Sox. more ›

The 20-member New York Times editorial board nearly endorsed Barack Obama for president, but ultimately Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. pushed through a Clinton endorsement, anonymous sources have told The New Republic. The behind-the-scenes article echoes conjecture from New York Magazine that Sulzberger’s BFF gym buddy Steven Rattner, a major Clinton donor and former Times reporter, may have been the deciding factor. more ›

A Giant hooked up to a shock device, numerous wedding proposals and an American Idol audition all added to the collective fun know as “Media Day” at the Super Bowl. What else can you expect when nearly 5,000 reporters have to shake out stories from 200 or so football players and coaches. more ›

What is it about Frank Gehry? When The Boston Globe reported this week that the architect (and a construction firm) is being sued by MIT, news organizations from Kansas City to Dublin reported the story. Does Gehry have a building in KC, too? Apparently, not, but he raised controversy there over an arena bid. Sound familiar?! The university filed a negligence and breach of contract suit, alleging design flaws in the $300 million Stata Center... more ›

The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that the Reverend David Ajemian was arrested on charges of stalking and threatening Conan O'Brien. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston placed Ajemian, a 46-year-old priest in Stoneham, Massachusetts, on leave. The DA's office says that Ajemian had sent letters (some on parish letterhead!) to O'Brien's offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and home, contacted his parents, and tried to attend tapings of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was... more ›

There was a NY Times City section about the uneasy equilibrium of dog owners and bicyclists in Central Park. Many a collisions occur between beast and bicycle, especially during off-leash hours. But we think there are actually lots of showdowns of park roads: Runners vs. Rollerbladers; stroller-pushing parents vs. runners; tourists vs. everyone. Which makes us wonder: more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Canal St. between Baxter and Perry Sts. in Manhattan, a separate bank robbery on West 6th St. and Neptune Ave. in Brooklyn, and yet another amputation (that's the third reported this week!) on Gardener Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The Queens man, who drove his known-suicidal wife to the edge of an upstate cliff and then watched as she drove the minivan containing their two children over the precipice, received three years probation. His lawyer called it "a bad judgement call."
• Online feminism for the 21st century at Feministing.com.
• Gambino mob associate Robert DeCicco was shot four times while exiting a pharmacy in Brooklyn Tuesday.
• JFK's AirTrain broke down this morning, trapping 30 passengers inside the shuttle for an hour before they could be walked along a platform to safety.
• The New York Times has Pac-Man Fever, as did ten contestants competing in Times Square at the Pac-Man World Championship. The paper sardonically notes that no women were involved.
• On the 63rd anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the USS Intrepid moved from dry-dock to Staten Island, with much enthusiasm elicited from veterans and fans of the aircraft carrier.
• The Boston Globe thinks NYC is the place to be for anyone interested in good olive oil.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg traveled back to his Massachusetts roots and gave the commencement speech at Tufts University. Bloomberg, who grew up in Medford, name checked various haunts in the hood, tried to seem with it by mentioning Busta Rhymes, Ali G, and Salma Hayek, and reminded kids to call their mother. He also discussed free speech, in what the Sun called a nod to the Minutemen incident at Columbia:

The fourth lesson is, in the words of Ali G, 'Respect.' Don't worry, I'm not going to start quoting Borat. Respect is so important - especially in times of conflict. You all know what I'm talking about. In December, The Primary Source printed some things that much of this community ardently disagreed with - that many considered quite offensive. But instead of suppressing the publication - and despite the emotion of the moment - you respected their right to express themselves. more ›

Forget the Nets' win against Toronto last night, the big Nets news was about Jason Kidd's personal life. In surprising news, Jason Kidd filed for divorce yesterday from Joumana, his wife of 10 years, citing extreme cruelty. This comes after he filed a domestic violence complaint against her on Monday for mistreating their three children. The Nets point guard is accusing his wife of "kicking, punching and throwing things at him, threatening to make false complaints, and even having tracking devices put in his cars and computers." The couple has been married for 10 years and has three children, their son T.J., 8, and twin daughters Miah and Jazelle, 5. more ›

Boston Celtics player and Brooklyn native Sebastian Telfair continues to deny he had anything to do with Fabolous shooting's outside of Justin's earlier this week. Earlier, the Post reported that Telfair's $50,000 necklace was stolen two hours before Fabolous was shot and a witness heard Telfair call someone "to take care" of it. Supposedly Telfair was just calling to ask for an escort because he was concerned about his and his fiancee's safety - i.e. the call wasn't a hit. more ›

"Cool" parents, watch out! The City Council is considering bring a "Social Host" law to NYC. The law makes parents responsible for any underage drinking in their homes, and, in fact, many other cities and states have social host laws as well. Parents can serve alcohol to their children (within reason, we'd imagine), while it would be illegal to serve alcohol to minors who are not their children. According to 1010WINS, there would be a $350 fine and anywhere from 15 days to 1 year in jail (!). There are also teen party ordinances, where the presence of alcohol amongst the underaged is illegal, but they haven't brought that to the city - yet. more ›

- And it must suck to be the homeowner whose home renovations became a Home Depot for a mobster more ›

Here are this weeks Weddings and Celebrations, by the numbers: more ›

'Tis the season for presidential endorsements. The city's paper of record, The New York Times, bestowed an endorsement of Senator John Kerry for President yesterday, describing him as a man with a "strong moral core" and "not just a modest improvement on the incumbent," closing with:

We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again, history invited George W. Bush to play a heroic role, and time and again he chose the wrong course. We believe that with John Kerry as president, the nation will do better. more ›

Steven I. Weiss, Journalist/Blogger more ›

we have been big fans of Howard Zinn. Yes, fans, of an historian. more ›

Umbrella? Exactly what we were thinking: Farnsworth Bentley. more ›

The Washington Post had a field day when White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told the White House press corps, "Good morning. The president had his usual briefings this morning and just recently completed an interview with the Sun, for a discussion of his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom." Yes, THE SUN, Gothamist's favorite British tabloid, which is where we find out everything we want to know about Kylie, Liam, Posh'n'Becks, Sadie'n'Jude, Chris'n'Gwyneth, Madge'n'Guy... The WP's Dana Milbank reports that a British reporter of a reputable journalistic outlet asked McClellan, "Just to clarify, why has the president chosen to do an interview with the Sun? It's a newspaper which publishes daily pictures of topless women." After detailing the Sun's bread and butter (not just naked ladies - there are stories about natives eating someone's ancestor and "German saboteurs plotted to bomb Palace with peas in WW2"), Milbank notes McClellan's answer, "It has a large readership." Notably, Bush hasn't given one-on-one interviews to publications like the NY Times, WSJ, Washington Post, Time or Newsweek this year (and hasn't given solo interviews to LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and Boston Globe ever). Hypothesis: Rupert Murdoch is a billionaire, The Sun-owning media baron and Bush is running for re-election next year. Ta-da, Bush interviews with Trevor Kavanagh. more ›

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Damn, the microfluidics lab at MIT is like a team out of Junkyard Wars - they built a robotic snail out of "unsophisticated gears, wiring and pieces of plastic." more ›

Ryan said: "I got theories with this last year, with this woman, this Joumana Kidd, who wants to be a TV star. She wants face time on camera. You know what, the great way to get face time on camera, bring the cute little precocious kid. Oh great, I mean, she needs, I'd like to smack her." more ›

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced today and the Boston Globe won for public service with its coverage of the Catholic priest sex scandal and the Washington Post and L.A. Times cleaned up with three awards each. Additionally, a film critic won for criticism: Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post. more ›