New York Times Company Sells Boston Globe For $70 Million. That's Just Slightly Less Than The $1 Billion They Paid For it 20 Years Ago

From the genius minds who want to tell everyone else how the economy should be run.

The New York Times company bought it for $1.1bn (£700m) in 1993 but has now agreed to sell it for $70m.

Like many US newspapers, the Globe has been hit by a slump in advertising revenue with circulation declining.

The buyer is John W Henry, the main owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team and Liverpool Football Club.

In a statement in the Globe, Mr Henry praised the paper's journalistic pedigree: "The Boston Globe's award-winning journalism as well as its rich history and tradition of excellence have established it as one of the most well-respected media companies in the country."

$70 million is just about half of the Red Sox payroll for this season.

This really is the equivalent of selling Newsweek for a buck, and the guy who did that said it was a mistake (in fairness, he took on their debt). You'd have to figure the physical assets of the Globe alone are worth more than that. Hell, some people think their HQ building is worth the purchase price.

Journalists keep telling us how important they are but the market keeps saying otherwise. Maybe they need to realize that it's not just the business model that is failing but that people are tired of paying for propaganda, even in Boston.

Actually reporting on news and events and not simply serving as a lapdog for an ideology is such a crazy idea it just might work. Either way, it's worth a try. Or not.

Added: It get's better...Henry isn't taking on the Globe's $100 million or so in unfunded pension liabilities. The Times kept those.

posted by DrewM. at 08:56 AM

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