Newyork:After a week in which both The Boston Glob and The Washington Post were purchased by new owners, the publisher of The New York Times declared Wednesday night that the publication was not for sale.In a statement, the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who is also chairman of The New York Times Co., said that he and Michael Golden, the vice chairman, had spoken to Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive of The Washington Post Co., about his decision to sell The Post and some smaller newspapers and stressed that The Times did not plan to follow a similar path.
“Will our family seek to sell The Times? The answer to that is no. The Times is not for sale, and the trustees of the Ochs-Sulzberger Trust and the rest of the family are united in our commitment to work together with the company’s board, senior management and employees to lead The New York Times forward into our global and digital future,” the statement said.
Sulzberger and Golden cited The Times’ success with its digital subscription model, its profitability and strong cash flow as reasons it was “perfectly able to fund our future growth. The Times has both the ideas and the money to pursue innovation.”Early Saturday, the Times Co. announced its decision to sell the New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe, to John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, for $70 million.
On Monday, The Washington Post Co. announced it would sell its flagship newspaper to Amazon.com’s founder, Jeffrey P. Bezos, for $250 million. The sale of The Post by the Graham family, which owned it for 80 years, leaves The Times as the nation’s last major newspaper run by a family.In an interview published last week in The Daily Beast, Sulzberger addressed rumors that a media mogul like Mayor Michael Bloomberg might purchase The Times at some point.
“Imagine. People talk. What a shock,” Sulzberger is quoted as saying. “The Times,” he says, slapping his palm on the table, “is Not. For. Sale.”
Wednesday’s statement was released shortly after Sulzberger held a closed-door meeting with family members.
New York Times isn’t for sale, its publisher declares added by Deepika Mehta on
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