Group Forms to buy Boston Globe

[Journo13]

Let's pray for this to happen.

"A group of more than a dozen investors and management specialists will offer to buy The Boston Globe from its long-time owner, The New York Times Co., the leader of the group said."
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/10/local_group_say.html

 

[wicked]

Five years ago, I would have agreed with you.

Looking at the mess currently ongoing in Philly, I'm less inclined to think local owners are white knights.

 

[Journo13]

Five years ago, I would have agreed with you.

Looking at the mess currently ongoing in Philly, I'm less inclined to think local owners are white knights.

I know that local owners aren't necessarily the greatest owners. However, I want to read a newspaper that simply isn't another copy of the New York Times mixed in with a sports section and some Boston news. The front section is nothing but wire stories.

 

[BYH]

It will not get any better under someone new.

 

[LongTimeListener]

It will probably get worse. All the back-office stuff you need to run a major newspaper -- IT/Web infrastructure, HR, etc. -- costs a hell of a lot when it's just servicing that one news outlet and not a whole chain. I can only imagine how long it would take the Globe, working alone and not as part of the NYT chain, to come up with a mobile app.

 

[SF_Express]

Having watched all my friends go through the Zell business -- "Hey, it's new leadership with a new approach, it will probably be great, what can go wrong??!!" -- I'm skeptical about this as well.

 

[wicked]

Having watched all my friends go through the Zell business -- "Hey, it's new leadership with a new approach, it will probably be great, what can go wrong??!!" -- I'm skeptical about this as well.

Brian Tierney said the same thing in Philly. "We're going to grow the product!" I'd be surprised if they have half the newsroom count they did before the deal was done. (In fairness, lots of other places have cut drastically, too, but they took some pretty big cuts right off the bat.)

 

[Journo13]

True. I didn't think of those aspects. Let's pray for the NY Times.

 

[wicked]

The front section is nothing but wire stories.

The foreign and nation reporters they let go aren't coming back. If NYT sells, you'll see McClatchy or AP on the front page instead of NYT copy.

 

[2underpar]

If they sell, will NYT stock go up?

 

[terrier]

Local ownership's not the answer if it involves Jack Welch.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

These guys spell disaster with all caps for the Globe. But they also are the usual suspects when any local institution that gets them a lot of attention is on the block. Red Sox, etc.