What Lew Rockwell doesn't disclose is that (1) the Times has $500 million in unfunded pension obligations and (2) the Ochs family controls 89% of the voting stock and 70% of the voting control of the Board of Directors. Thus, they authorize and directly benefit from the dividends and stock buybacks Mr. Rockwell discusses. In effect, they are overseeing the de facto liquidation of the Times for their own benefit, while using bank loans, lines of credit and private equity injections to fund the operating losses.

Posted by: Bill on March 24, 2009 3:06 PM

Agree with JV. NYT on the web is becoming more and more of a must-read. It's probably my one indispensable website, after Google, which sort of doesn't count, if you think about it.

You can pry the paper NYT out of my hands, but you ain't gettin' my web version! If I had to watch the ads/flash movies on every page I read of the online NYT to keep it in business, I'd do so.

Posted by: PatrickH on March 24, 2009 3:20 PM

From what I've read, the family who own the times are wealthy but not the type of who play polo and vacation on yachts wealthy. However, they do enjoy living on the chic parts of Manhattan and good educations and they are a very large clan.

Posted by: chic noir on March 24, 2009 3:38 PM

For God sake, we should not abandon paper. There is nothing like the written word. The Times would do better in making people who read online pay a few dollars per week. Or limit access to some articles for nonsubscribers like the Wall St Journal does.

Posted by: chic noir on March 24, 2009 3:42 PM

You just knew this was coming, didn't you...?

http://tinyurl.com/deubhy

Posted by: Charlton Griffin on March 24, 2009 7:11 PM

Speaking of making choices, some need to be reminded that "No one is smarter than their criteria," - if they have any....

Obama?

Posted by: Jim Baxter on March 27, 2009 11:46 AM






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