Hoaxes and Non-existence: When is Richard Pérez-Peña going to start writing about the future of the NYT Company?

Richard Pérez-Peña, the New York Times senior media writer, does a stand up job of covering the American media scene, most recently A senior fellow at the Institute of Nonexistence By Richard Pérez-Peña and coverage of the hoax NYT edition (covered by this blog before the NYT).

The IHT is happy to run corporate press releases concerning good news stories - appointments of new editors, opening of print sites, publishing partnerships etc.

But there seems to be a resounding silence from the NYT and the IHT's media writers about the future of their employee.

Normally, I am against in-house media writers covering their own paper, and don't like the above mentioned examples of corporate puff pieces - there is a credibility problem.

But if the senior editors will run these puff pieces, isn't it time for some serious reporting about the rather dire straights of the NYT Company. It is, presumably, a two way street, and of some interest to IHT readers (at least judged by emails and traffic to this blog).

Time, I think, with NYT time stock trading below $8 and the blogosphere awash with NYT stories, for either Pfanner or Doreen C. to be tasked this story, because it sure ain't coming from Richard.

They even managed to run a piece about how companies were turning to blogging to report layoffs (especially in media sector) to be ahead of the blogosphere. Perhaps someone might re-read that story and see whether they can see any relevance in it to the NYT itself.

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'I read A Place in My Country with absolute unalloyed delight. A glorious book.'
Jeremy Irons (actor)

‘Ian Walthew was a newspaper executive with a career that took him round the world, who one day did a mad thing. He saw a for-sale sign on a cottage in the Cotswolds, bought it, resigned and moved in. For the first few weeks he just lay on the grass in a daze. Then he started talking to his neighbours and digging into the rich history of this beautiful part of England. Out of his inquiries grew this affecting and inspiring memoir.What sets it apart from others of its ilk is the author’s enviable immunity to cliché and his determination to love his homeland better than he used to. His elegiac account of relearning how to be an Englishman should be required reading for anyone who claims to know or love this country.’ Financial Times



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Keller Says No Further Job Cuts at the Times (NYO)

I posted recently on the perils of cost cutting by a thousand cuts and how bad for staff morale it is. I also posted on Goldman Sach's analyst quite rightly connecting the dots between editorial cut backs and declining circulation.

So it's good to read the following about Mr. Keller on job cuts. However, I am perturbed by his use of the word 'horizon'.

Where exactly is the 'horizon' in the current newspaper industry/wider financial crisis?

Not very far away I would say and hearing about job cuts from him before Gawker is the same as saying you'll hear it from Mr. Keller 5 mins before Gawker or this blog.

None of which would make me put too much weight into his statement, honest and sincere as it no doubt it is, but things are moving fast.

P.S I don't know which is worse as a moniker: 'State of the Newsroom' (pompous) or 'Throw stuff at Bill' (dress down Friday corporate B.S for serious meetings)

Keller Says No Further Job Cuts at the Times (NYO)

by John Koblin October 27, 2008

"Throw Stuff at Bill" Keller
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller denied that there will be any further newsroom job cuts at the Times this morning at his State of the Newsroom meeting, "Throw Stuff at Bill." [Update, October 28th: The Times sessions are actually called "Throw Stuff at Bill."]
"The answer is no," said Mr. Keller, according to an attendee. "No, I do not see another round of newsroom staff reductions on the horizon."
He said that hiring will be "even more selective than before," but the goal is to avoid painful cuts that other newspapers have made.
Earlier this year, the Times cut 100 newsroom positions, leaving the total newsroom body count around 1200—bigger than any other single newspaper's newsroom in the country. At Mr. Keller's last newsroom address, back in February, he announced those job cuts, leaving many staffers wondering if more cuts would be announced again today.
Gawker had recently reported a tip that the newsroom was planning on a 20 percent editorial staff reduction.
Mr. Keller dismissed that rumor by saying, "consider the source." He said that if cuts become necessary, "You will hear it from me before you hear it on Gawker."
According to our source, the sole question that Mr. Keller was asked today was about job cuts and "he answered it, several times."
UPDATE 12:28 pm: Our source clarified that Mr. Keller wasn't asked one question; he was asked several.

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The NYT and the IHT need to be more entrepreneurial

I posted recently on Mr. Sulzberger's comments about not being afraid to fail. Hear, hear.

Forgive me for banging the same drum, but the NYT and its bankers must recognise the need for game-changing ideas. If they can't come from within, they must look outside. (Research and Development being a central pillar of the NYT's strategy, as declared in its 2007 annual report.)

Here are some of Mr. Sulzberger's declarations made in his keynote speech at the Webby Connect conference last week.

“If you’re not prepared to occasionally fail, you’re not trying hard enough.”

He talked a lot about "intelligent content delivery" and how the newspaper’s research and development division, which was created in 2006, is working toward that goal while the NYT searches for business models that will sustain growth online.

That's all fine but multi-platform delivery, for a fragmented audience, is in MHO, only a small part of the equation in saving the NYT. An important one, but not a game-changing one, something I am sure they know.

Here's some food for thought from today's IHT if and when the NYT Company looks for external help, or if it already has.

The care and feeding of entrepreneurs
By Marci Alboher
Sunday, October 26, 2008
GUY KAWASAKI is a best-selling author of seven books on entrepreneurship, a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, the co-founder of Alltop.com, an "online magazine rack," and a popular public speaker and blogger.
Previously, Kawasaki worked at Apple, where he was appointed to the Apple Fellow program, which recognizes employees who have made extraordinary contributions to personal computing. His latest book, "Reality Check" (Portfolio), is a compilation of his advice, interviews and musings on all aspects of entrepreneurship.
I interviewed Kawasaki through a series of e-mail messages after he persuaded me that he was much funnier in writing than on the phone. The following is a condensation of our e-mail exchange:
Q. "Reality Check" includes a venture capital aptitude test in which you opine on the types of people who are best qualified for careers in venture capital. Your test awards points to those with backgrounds in sales or engineering and subtracts points for those with M.B.A. degrees or backgrounds in management consulting, investment banking or accounting. What's behind this philosophy?
A. Ideally, a venture capitalist would add value beyond writing a check. This includes experience with difficult situations and insights into building a company. Consulting, investment banking and accounting do not provide you with "on the firing line" experience. You're always the "outside expert" who zooms in, interviews a few people, creates a PowerPoint presentation and then tells people what they should do.
Unfortunately, analysis and ideas are easy. Implementation is hard. A consultant can tell you to reduce your work force by 10 percent, but figuring out who to lay off and looking people in the eyes when you do it is much harder.
Q. When someone comes to you with a business idea or a request for advice, what traits or behaviors are immediate tip-offs to you that someone has the entrepreneurial gene, or is lacking it?
A. The more I meet with entrepreneurs the less I think I can pick them. Sure, there are stereotypes: bright, aggressive, enthusiastic, young, etc. But there are many successful entrepreneurs that don't come off this way.
The richest vein I have seen is two guys/gals who want to create a tool that they themselves want to use. This describes, for example, Google, Yahoo and Apple. I have come to believe that almost everyone has the entrepreneurial gene; it's been necessary for survival for thousands of years.
The issue is whether that gene is expressed, and the only way to really "know" is with retroactive, after-the-fact analysis. Unfortunately, venture capital doesn't work this way. You take your best shot and pray, then you thank God if you're right a few times.
Q. Everyone is consumed with the evaporation of the credit markets these days. Yet many experts say that small business will be the source of growth and new jobs in this economy. Do you agree?
A. This is populist, wishful pabulum. It's easy to say that entrepreneurs will create jobs and big companies will create unemployment, but this is simplistic. The real question is who will innovate. A 50-year-old company can innovate as well as two guys/gals in a garage.
Q. What is your advice to entrepreneurs seeking funding or growth opportunities if the credit and capital markets continue on their current course?
A. My advice is that they melt wax into their ears and go forward. If they are waiting for wonderful credit and capital markets, they probably aren't entrepreneurs. They're much more likely to be consultants and bankers looking to quickly flip a company.
Q. Other than the obvious, like renewable sources of energy, can you predict some sectors where you expect to see the next wave of entrepreneurial activity?
A. I can't. I'm not a visionary à la Steve Jobs. I'm a marketer. Hopefully I can recognize visions that can sell, but I can't predict the next big thing until someone shows it to me.
Q. You have strong opinions on what makes a successful pitch, for everything from writing a business plan to hiring the right people to closing a deal or giving a presentation. Give us some of your golden rules for pitching.
A. There are only two golden rules of pitching, whoever obeys these rules gets the gold. First, be able to explain in 30 seconds what your company does. Almost no one is capable of doing this. Second, when using PowerPoint, use 10 slides that you can cover in 20 minutes with fonts no smaller than 30 points. It's called the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. Almost no one does this either.
Q. You dedicate a few amusing chapters in "Reality Check" to lies told by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, lawyers, engineers, business partners and CEO's. With all this rampant lying, are you suggesting that artful lying and lie-detecting are part of the game that entrepreneurs need to master?
A. If an entrepreneur's lips are moving, she's probably lying, though she may not know it. Part of being an entrepreneur is that you have to lie, first of all to yourself. You have to tell yourself that you can create something, people can build it, customers will buy it and you can collect the money.
If you cannot ignore the naysayers who tell you that it can't be done, it shouldn't be done, it isn't necessary, you can't be an entrepreneur. One of the best ways to ignore is to lie and deny.
The challenge is that once you do ship, you have to remove the lie-and-deny shields and listen to what your customers are telling you. Flipping this bit is one of the hardest things for an entrepreneur to do.
•
To close the interview, I asked Kawasaki to come up with a final question he'd like to answer:
Q. What would you like people to say about you when you die?
A. I hope that people say I was a good husband and father. After that, I hope that they say I empowered entrepreneurs to make the world a better place. After that, I hope that some people say that they're glad I'm gone because they don't have to worry about them tripping me on the ice.
(Note: That's a hockey reference from an avid player.)

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Frantic panic is in the air generally: what should the NYT do?

Last Friday hit everyone hard, and there has been a weekend of reflection.

Read these articles from today's International Herald Tribune, if you don't believe that at least at the NYT editorial desk, there is a growing awareness of something more than a financial meltdown and it's called financial panic.

I'd say we've just had a tipping point weekend.

In Europe, crisis revives old memories

Roger Cohen: Shoot the horses?

But have we learned enough?

The price of optimism

Economic rout seems to take on a life of its own

Economic downturn is expected to get worse



What should any company do, what should the NYT do, in such times?

I'd say it's innovate, acquire, invest or die time. Tom Friedman pretty much sums up my views and I hope the NYT's bankers, commercial paper holders and executives read this carefully: "So let's keep our eyes on the prize."


Thomas L. Friedman: Save the system
By Thomas L. Friedman
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The hardest thing about analyzing the Bush administration is this: Some things are true even if President Bush believes them.
Therefore, sifting through all his steps and missteps, at home and abroad, and trying to sort out what is crazy and what might actually be true - even though Bush believes it - presents an enormous challenge, particularly amid this economic crisis.
I felt that very strongly when listening to Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson announce that the government was going to become a significant shareholder in America's major banks. Both Bush and Paulson were visibly reluctant to be taking this step. It would be easy to scoff at them and say: "What do you expect from a couple of capitalists who hate any kind of government intervention in the market?"
But we should reflect on their reluctance. There may be an important message in their grimaces. The government had to step in and shore up the balance sheets of America's major banks. But the question I am asking myself, and I think Paulson and Bush were asking themselves, is this: "What will this government intervention do to the risk-taking that is at the heart of capitalism?"
There is a fine line between risk-taking and recklessness. Risk-taking drives innovation; recklessness drives over a cliff. In recent years, we Americans had way too much of the latter. We are paying a huge price for that, and we need a correction. But how do we do that without becoming so risk-averse that start-ups and emerging economies can't get capital because banks with the government as a shareholder become exceedingly cautious?
Let's imagine this scene: You are the president of one of these banks in which the government has taken a position. One day two young Stanford grads walk in your door. One is named Larry, and the other is named Sergey. They tell you that they have this thing called a "search engine," and they are naming it - get this - "Google." They tell you to type in any word in this box on a computer screen and - get this - hit a button labeled "I'm Feeling Lucky." Up comes a Web site related to that word. Their start-up has exhausted its venture capital. They need a loan.
What are you going to say to Larry and Sergey as the president of the bank? "Boys, this is very interesting. But I have the U.S. Treasury as my biggest shareholder today, and if you think I'm going to put money into something called 'Google,' with a key called 'I'm Feeling Lucky,' you're fresh outta luck. Can you imagine me explaining that to a congressional committee if you guys go bust?"
And then what happens if the next day the congressman from Palo Alto, who happens to be on the House banking committee, calls you, the bank president, and says: "I understand you turned down my boys, Larry and Sergey. Maybe you haven't been told, but I am one of your shareholders - and right now, I'm not feeling very lucky. You get my drift?"
Maybe nothing like this will ever happen. Maybe it's just my imagination. But maybe not ...
"Government bailouts and guarantees, while at times needed, always come with unintended consequences," notes the financial strategist David Smick. "The winners: the strong, the big, the established, the domestic and the safe - the folks who, relatively speaking, don't need the money. The losers: the new, the small, the foreign and the risky - emerging markets, entrepreneurs and small businesses not politically connected. After all, what banker in a Capitol Hill hearing now would want to defend a loan to an emerging market? Yet emerging economies are the big markets for American exports."
I am not criticizing the decision to shore up the banks. And we must prevent a repeat of the reckless bundling and securitizing of mortgages, and excessive leveraging, that started this mess. We need better regulation. But most of all, we need better management.
The banks that are surviving the best today, the ones that are buying others and not being bought - like JPMorgan Chase or Banco Santander, based in Spain - are not surviving because they were better regulated than the banks across the street but because they were better run. Their leaders were more vigilant about their risk exposure than any regulator required them to be.
Bottom line: We must not overshoot in regulating the markets just because they overshot in their risk-taking. That's what markets do. We need to fix capitalism, not install socialism. Because, ultimately, we can't bail our way out of this crisis. We can only grow our way out - with more innovation and entrepreneurship.
So let's keep our eyes on the prize. Save the system, install smart regulations and get the government out of the banking business as soon as possible so that the surviving banks can freely and unabashedly get back into their business: risk-taking without recklessness.

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NYTimes.com Announces New Video Platform with Deeper Integration Throughout the Site (NYT Company Press Release)

If you're like me and heavily reliant on www.iht.com you will be spending more and more time getting to know www.nytimes.com which will host - in ways not yet clear - the IHT from spring of 2009.

NYTimes.com Announces New Video Platform with Deeper Integration Throughout the Site (NYT Company Press Release)
New Features Include Section-front Video Players, Better Search and a Redesigned Video Library
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2008--NYTimes.com announced today the launch of a new video platform that introduces video into more sections of the site and provides enhanced user functionality. This new platform emphasizes The Times's strong commitment to video as an important journalistic medium. Players, now using a high-definition format, are available on the home page, article pages, in blogs and in the video library, making video an even more integral component of the NYTimes.com experience.
The video platform also introduces:
-- Widescreen format - high-definition videos are now displayed in a 16x9 widescreen frame;
-- Redesigned video library (www.NYTimes.com/video) - library offers a clean layout and a black background for optimal viewing comfort;
-- Individual video pages - an individual playback page for each video that provides a better viewing experience and enhanced searchability;
-- "Most Viewed" - a continually updated list of the most viewed videos across the site; and
-- Share tools - the ability to share videos to social sites such as Digg, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mixx and Yahoo! Buzz.
"Demand for high-quality video is on the rise across the Web from both our users and our advertisers," said Nicholas Ascheim, vice president, product management, NYTimes.com. "To meet this need, we have upgraded our technology, increased our production values and given video even more prominence across the site."
"As our online audience continues to grow, video is an increasingly useful tool for Times journalists," said Ann Derry, editorial director, video and television, The New York Times. "By further integrating video throughout the site, we can bring to life the rich stories and characters that are best experienced visually."
The Times produces over 100 original videos per month, featuring breaking news and analysis, as well as enterprise and investigative reporting by Times journalists around the world, many of whom are shooting video themselves. The Times also continues to develop video series by well-known journalists such as David Pogue, Mark Bittman (The Minimalist), David Carr (The Carpetbagger) and A.O. Scott (Critics' Picks). NYTimes.com/video currently houses over 3,000 videos. NYTimes.com also offers select videos from CNBC, MSNBC, Reuters and Bloggingheads.tv, as well as more than 15,000 movie trailers and clips. In recent weeks, NYTimes.com has begun hosting video at the top of the homepage, including live streaming video of the presidential and vice presidential debates.
The new video experience uses Brightcove 3, the latest version of Brightcove's online video platform; The New York Times Company is an investor in Brightcove Inc.
According to Nielsen Online, NYTimes.com had 20.1 million unique visitors in September 2008, and was the No. 1 newspaper Web site in United States, a position it has long held.

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The perils of link journalism at the NYT

Thursday, Oct 23 (Daily FishbowlNY)
New York Times Loves the Little Guy


In Jon Pareles' column yesterday, "This Is the Music of the Blogs," the New York Times music critic details a night he spent going to concerts hosted by music blogs during the CMJ Music Marathon.

His evening out offers an intimate portrait of the relationship between indie bands and the blogs that love, hate, make and break them. "Sometime in the mid-2000s, the words indie-rock and blog became inseparable. The two were made for each other," Pareles writes. During the course of the article, he attends showcases put on by four separate blogs — The Music Slut, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum.

Interestingly, in the online version of the article only the first two are linked. We found this strange. While the latter two are bigger and, therefore, might need as much press, they are hardy "household names." Considering the author feels the need to explain CMJ, it's clear the article is aimed at the general public who likely wouldn't have heard of Brooklyn Vegan and Stereogum. A link in the Times leads to increased traffic and recognition — while she declined to cite specific numbers, via email The Music Slut told us her traffic doubled yesterday because of the mention — and we are curious as to why the paper wouldn't link to all four. It's not as though it's difficult or time consuming.

We contacted Pareles to find out if he had any say in what was linked and what wasn't, but he has yet to return our call.

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Controlling Media Holders Face New Scrutiny As Econ Weakens (Dow Jones)

"In general, I'm in favor of one-share-one-vote, but I do make an exception for newspapers, since there's never been a world-class newspaper without a controlling shareholder."

Nell Minow with the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm

"The Ochs-Sulzberger family's ownership of, and commitment to, The New York Times has protected the newspaper and its editorial independence through many business cycles," said Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for New York Times. "While the current turmoil in our financial markets creates stresses for virtually every business, this commitment remains unchanged."

Catherine Mathis

Controlling Media Holders Face New Scrutiny As Econ Weakens
By Nat Worden Of DOW JONES
NEWSWIRES
The global financial crisis threatens some of the media's elite controlling shareholders after a decade of disappointing investment returns, a rise in investor activism and a chaotic industry transition to the digital age.
Media moguls who rose to prominence while keeping a tight grip on control of their empires have lost some cachet on Wall Street in recent years, as public shareholders increasingly view their family relationships and resistance to change as a barrier to stock performance.
Now, the outbreak of a historic financial meltdown has sparked massive sell-offs in media stocks in expectation of an economic slowdown that could force structural changes to an industry already struggling to adapt to the Internet. This prospect could loosen the grip of controlling shareholders on their family businesses like never before.
"Conflicts of interest aren't felt during good times," said Nell Minow with the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm. "But they can be felt strongly in bad times."
Those particularly seeing extra scrutiny are Sumner Redstone, controlling shareholder of Viacom Inc. (VIA) and CBS Corp. (CBS); the Dolan family, owners of Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC); and the Ochs-Sulzbergers, who control New York Times Co. (NYT). Of those companies, only New York Times would comment for this story.
Already, some legendary media families have faded to the background in recent years, including the Chandlers at Tribune Co., the Ridder family of Knight-Ridder and the Bancrofts of Dow Jones.
The sale of Dow Jones, publisher of this newswire, to News Corp. (NWS) last year exposed some weaknesses of family ownership - the potential for divisions of opinion and, in some cases, neglect. Ironically, Dow Jones was bought by another prominent media family, the Murdochs, whose News Corp. so far largely has escaped shareholder scrutiny, thanks in part to the company's diversification.
News Corp. declined to comment for this story, and a lawyer representing the Bancroft family could not be reached.
Privately controlled and publicly owned companies are common throughout corporate America, but the media industry is rife with such arrangements. Controlling shareholders are perceived to make takeovers harder and reduce corporate influences, giving stability to media companies and a measure of autonomy for content producers from corporate interests.
"In general, I'm in favor of one-share-one-vote, but I do make an exception for newspapers, since there's never been a world-class newspaper without a controlling shareholder," Minnow said. "They do offer protection from market volatility and pressure from advertisers, and shareholders should know what they're getting into when they decide to buy these stocks."
Yesterday's News
For major media conglomerates, though, stock prices generally have made little progress this decade, and in many cases, shareholders have lost significant ground and underperformed major market indices. With the U.S. headed for a consumer-led recession, prospects for a long-awaited turnaround are dwindling, and the business structures of the traditional media, largely protected by controlling shareholders, are becoming suspect.
One such structure exists at Viacom and CBS, both controlled by media mogul Sumner Redstone through his private firm, National Amusements Inc. The arrangement came into focus last week as Redstone was forced to sell $233 million worth of nonvoting stock in the two media conglomerates in order to comply with bank covenants on his firm's $1.6 billion debt load, adding to heavy selling in both stocks.
Redstone's firm said Friday that it is still negotiating on the terms of its debt load as credit markets remain under stress. Meanwhile, the mogul has been feuding with his daughter, Shari, over succession plans, and he recently fielded a lawsuit from his son, Brent.
Shares of Viacom have dropped more than 20% so far this month, leaving the company with less than half the market value it had at the start of 2008. CBS, with its heavy exposure to the weakening ad market, has fared even worse. It's down 40% in October and 67% for the year. Neither stock trades at anywhere near the price where they were valued after Redstone decided to split them into separate entities in early 2006 in hopes of rejuvenating their stock performance.
"At some point, the key institutional investors with a significant interest in Viacom and CBS but no voting control could start to push Redstone to consider new options for these companies," said Porter Bibb, managing partner with MediaTech Capital Partners, an advisory firm focused on the media industry. "They may not be able to vote, but they can buy big stakes in these companies and scream bloody murder if the stock declines continue. Eventually, something has got to give."
Having traded recently at $17.89, Cablevision shares now are trading at just about half the price the Dolans offered to pay shareholders for their stock last fall. Cablevision's shares are off 44% over the last 10 years, while the S&P 500 has broken even over that time. Meanwhile, a number of Wall Street analysts have long said that between its top-performing cable business, its cable networks and its iconic New York real estate holdings like Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, Cablevision is sitting on a treasure trove of assets undervalued by the market under the company's current structure.
Cablevision, which has little exposure to the advertising market unlike other media companies, has said it's exploring different options to return value to shareholders. It recently announced a regular dividend payment to shareholders.
Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund with a history of shareholder activism, recently accumulated a 9% stake in Cablevision. A spokesman for Harbinger declined to comment for this story. Earlier this year, the firm took seats on the board of directors of New York Times, which is facing a rapid erosion of its advertising revenue, but the publisher's controlling family still holds sway over the board.
"The Ochs-Sulzberger family's ownership


of, and commitment to, The New York Times has protected the newspaper and its editorial independence through many business cycles," said Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for New York Times. "While the current turmoil in our financial markets creates stresses for virtually every business, this commitment remains unchanged."
To be sure, not all media families have felt shareholder pressure as intensely. Despite recent stock-price declines, News Corp.'s Murdochs and the Roberts of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) still have firm control over their companies.
Friday, Murdoch told News Corp. shareholders at their annual meeting that the company's "right balance" of businesses will help it achieve "solid profitability" over the next year in the difficult economic environment. He also said he and his family have no debt outstanding that will affect the company.
Still, shares of News Corp. are trading 20% below where they started 2003 and 7% below where they traded a decade ago. Meanwhile, succession questions about News Corp.'s future after Rupert Murdoch hang over the company, raising another vulnerability of privately controlled companies as a dismal economic outlook for 2009 looms.
"Fiscal 2009 will be a year of many - in some cases unprecedented - challenges," Murdoch said at the meeting. "We cannot fool ourselves into believing otherwise."
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; nat.worden@dowjones.com
Corrected october 22, 2008 16:16 ET (20:16 GMT)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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LOOKING FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT?

"Books about cosmopolitan urbanites discovering the joys of country life are two a penny, but this one is worth a second glance. Walthew's vivid description of the moral stress induced by his job as a high-flying executive with the International Herald Tribune newspaper is worth the cover price alone…. Highly recommended." The Oxford Times

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New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal on Op-Ed page contributors

NYT's Unforgettable Hire: Bono
BONO PRO BONO Bono, Rosenthal (inset) (Photo: Getty Images) Like Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter before him, New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal sees something special in a certain teensy Gaelic man who refuses to remove his sunglasses. That's right, the Timesman announced last night his first acquisition for the paper's Op-Ed pages for 2009: Bono. Yep, Bono. The activist-creator of Zoo TV will pen between six and ten pieces for the Grey Lady next year, Rosenthal told students Wednesday night at Columbia's School of Journalism.
So might this new hire be taking the position of—or helping to off-set the damage done by—any especially right-leaning columnist currently under fire for his devotion to vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin? Say, Bill Kristol, for example?
Rosenthal dodged questions about Kristol, refusing to say if the Times would renew the right-wing columnist's contract when it expires in January, or who might replace him if he goes. Instead he cracked wise and affectionately of all his columnists. Kristol, for example can be "kooky," and in fact the whole staff, he noted wryly, is "incredibly easy to deal with and very humble." He took Maureen Dowd's infamous Latin column as a case in point: "I told her I thought it would be a little weird, and she did it anyway," but given that she's "the easiest and most pleasant edit of any writer I've worked with in my life," he let it slide.
Of course, in belt-tightening times, it's important to note that the ink of the high-holy U2 crooner comes free of charge: "Nothing," said Rosenthal of Bono's pay rate, noting that the Irish millionaire will muse on Africa, poverty, and, importantly, the music of Frank Sinatra. And while Bono may seem an odd choice for such a contract, Rosenthal did mention his current obsession with learning the guitar, and even shuffled freshly downloaded riff tablature together with his lecture notes. And though Rosenthal didn't announce any other celeb contributors, he did allude to re-recruiting the pen of Queen guitarist Brian May, who just earned his doctorate in astrophysics, and expressed admiration for previous opinion writers Bruce Springsteen and Larry David.
Of actual journalists, Rosenthal said he admired the work of the Atlantic's Megan McArdle and the National Review's Byron York.
Which is all fine and well, but are there former contributors Rosenthal doesn't like? "Condoleezza Rice is a particularly bad op-ed writer." And Tom Wolfe tends to write very long. So no Rice, less than Wolfe, and more in the spirit of Bono. Given that the Times' opinion pages could be the most competitive 800 words in journalism, any other pointers on how to make sure a fledgling contributor's submission will get printed? "Take a position in support of any Republican you care to name," the editor joshed. But it's a fine line, he noted with a smile: "The problem with conservative columnists," said Rosenthal, "is that many of them lie in print."
By Ben Chapman 10/23/08 9:25

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Yesterday's White Powder Scare: NYT Staff take showers (NYT)

Here's a more complete version of what happened yesterday at the NYT. Apparently it was all an unfortunate mix-up as various cold and other remedial powders had been shipped in by staff members to help them pull an all nighter preparing the Q3 Results for the following day.

Not what Ms. Mathis required either I should imagine, the eve of the big day.

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The lobby of The Times’s building, at 620 Eighth Avenue, was closed for several hours. It reopened after the substance was found to be harmless. (Photos: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)

Workers investigating the substance donned hazardous materials suits.

October 22, 2008, 1:58 pm — Updated: 9:38 pm -->
Times Lobby Reopens; No Hazard Found
By Sewell Chan AND Al Baker

Updated, 6:30 p.m. The lobby of The New York Times’s headquarters building in Midtown Manhattan was closed for nearly four hours on Wednesday after an employee opened an envelope that contained a suspicious substance, officials at the newspaper said.
The authorities determined the substance was not hazardous, and the lobby was reopened by 3:40 p.m. “We are glad that we can bring this unfortunate incident to a close,” Dennis L. Stern, senior vice president and deputy general manager of The Times, wrote in an e-mail message to employees.
Police officials said that three Times employees were asked to take showers as a precaution against contamination. The 13th floor, where the envelope was opened, was briefly evacuated, but around 2 p.m., employees on that floor were permitted to return to their offices, according to Catherine J. Mathis, a spokeswoman for The Times.
The letter was addressed to Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor of The Times, according to Paul J. Browne, a spokesman for the Police Department. The address of The Times was hand-written and there was no return address.
“The white powder turned out to be some kind of pebbles,” said Mr. Browne, who noted that it was still being tested. He said the letter was initially “sealed up” by security personnel at The Times and that those security workers brought it to the lobby, which is likely what prompted the shuttering of the lobby.
Mr. Rosenthal’s executive secretary opened the envelope, and a white powdery substance came out of it, the authorities said.
“It was deemed to be non-hazardous minerals,” Mr. Browne said. “They do field tests and then they do later exams, but the initial testing indicated nonhazardous minerals.”
The envelope was post-marked in Florida, Mr. Browne said, though he could not say what city. Inside the envelope, Mr. Browne said, was what appeared to be a page from a child’s penmanship book. Nothing was written on it.
The secretary and two other Times employees, including a mailroom worker, were being decontaminated as a precaution, Mr. Browne said. As part of the decontamination, the workers had to bag their clothing and take showers.
Mr. Stern told employees in an e-mail message at 12:24 p.m.:
At about 11:30 a.m. today an employee on the 13th floor of our headquarters building in New York opened an envelope addressed to The New York Times. A white granular substance was in the envelope. The New York City police were called and are now on site investigating. The 41st Street side of the lobby is closed but people are able to get in and out of the building. We will keep you updated on any developments.
Employees at The Times were instructed over the public address system to use the building’s freight elevators and loading dock to exit or enter, while the lobby remained closed.
“No evacuation is necessary,” security officers at The Times announced, repeatedly, over the building’s public-address system. (After hearing one such announcement, the writer and playwright Moisés Kaufman, who was giving a talk to Times employees on the 15th floor of the building, quipped, “If I have to stay here, I want a salary.”)
Designed by the architect Renzo Piano, The Times’s building, at 620 Eighth Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets, officially opened in November 2007, but the newspaper began moving into its offices there several months earlier.
On Oct. 12, 2001, The Times briefly closed its offices, then located at 229 West 43rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, after a reporter, Judith Miller, opened an envelope and released a talclike powder. The newsroom was evacuated and the police temporarily sealed off the building, but tests found no dangerous elements in the powder.
Ms. Mathis said that since then, there have been several other cases of suspicious materials being sent to The Times. None turned out to be harmful.

Police officers in the lobby of The Times, which was closed for nearly four hours.

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The New York Times is moving its Beijing bureau chief Jim Yardley to India, replacing Somini Sengupta as the bureau chief in New Delhi.

New York, Oct 23 (IANS) The New York Times is moving its Beijing bureau chief Jim Yardley to India, replacing Somini Sengupta as the bureau chief in New Delhi.
The Times' Olympics reporting this year under Yardley won fulsome praise from the paper's executive editor Bill Keller as 'stunning' and 'dazzling' in internal memos, The New York Observer, a weekly newspaper, has reported.
During his five years in Beijing, Yardley also won a Pulitzer in international reporting in 2006.
Sengupta, who spent four years as the New Delhi bureau chief, will take a temporary sabbatical in the Netherlands before getting a new assignment.
In a reshuffle at the Times foreign desk, Yardley will be joined in India by Lydia Polgreen, currently the paper's West African correspondent.
At a time when US newspapers are shutting or trimming their foreign bureaus to cut costs, the Times is not ready to sacrifice its foreign reporting edge.
NYT's foreign editor Susan Chira told the Observer: 'Luckily, the top management of the Times sees foreign news as essential to the identity and mission of the Times. So while we are careful to pare costs whenever we can, and while we have had to juggle bureau positions so we don't go up overall, we are in the fortunate position of avoiding major cuts.'
http://newsfromamericas.blogspot.com/2008/10/nyt-moves-beijing-bureau-chief-to-india.html

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Will The NYT Go The Way Of The Dinosaurs? Sulzberger Responds (We

@ WebbyConnect: Will The NYT Go The Way Of The Dinosaurs? Sulzberger Responds
By Matt Kapko - Wed 22 Oct 2008 01:14 PM PST
Will the print version of the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) still be around in 10 years? New York Times Chairman and Publisher Arthur Sulzberger tackled that question following his keynote at the WebbyConnect conference this morning: “The heart of the answer must be that we can’t care. We do care. I care very much, but we must be where people want us to be for their information… Print is going to be here, I believe, for a very long time.” The NYT is more comfortable than ever with experimentation and launching services in beta, he said. “The thought is that we have to get past the thought that it has to be perfect” on day one. “If you’re not prepared to occasionally fail, you’re not trying hard enough.”

Sulzberger began his keynote with some pointed words on the worsening economy. “It is tempting to hope that what we are witnessing is just a temporary readjustment and some massive reboot of the financial system will solve all of our problems” but, “there is a lot of bad debt out there.” He cautioned that something more significant is yet to come. “What we have learned is that we will have a far better chance of making it through” this period with a fair amount of criticism, he added. Sulzberger then dove into a series of observations on weaknesses and strengths he sees in journalism today and where The New York Times is making investments for future growth.

-- Content: Sulzberger: “We now compete with companies that don’t even create content,” and yet “quality content matters enormously… it enables us to make the decisions necessary to keep democracy alive.” Throughout U.S. history, there has been “an inevitable flight to quality journalism” during particularly tough times. Regardless of where people sit on the ideological spectrum, they are thirsty for accurate information online. Blogs and pure-digital news organizations add both “superb” and “horrifying” coverage to the mix. “All news organizations are human enterprises. We will all make mistakes.” What separates quality from hyperbole is the willingness to admit to those mistakes and always committing to improve. “The flow of false information on the web is an increasingly powerful force and we all know that… The internet is democratizing the narrative by fundamentally altering how information is disseminated.” And still, there is an incredible need for journalists and readers to maintain a historical perspective. “Every weather disturbance is the storm of the century,” he gave as one example of “journalistic hyperbole.”
-- Convergence and business models: Before 2000, most people talked about convergence as if media and information would come to us on one device, but the number of devices used to access content has multiplied. The convergence discussion today is pegged around the end user being at the center of the experience on multiple devices. “We call this intelligent content delivery,” and NYT is re-tooling its operations to deliver on that vision. The newspaper’s research and development division, which was created in 2006, is working toward that goal while NYT searches for business models that will sustain growth online. NYT’s goal is to attract more users, increase engagement and drive revenue from that. One example of NYT’s shift is TimesExtra, a new service that pulls headlines in from other news organizations and blogs to pair with relevant coverage from NYT. The long-held commandment in newsrooms to avoid linking to outside sites is eroding.
Post-TimesSelect: “The era of the walled garden is over… future success on the internet is about overcoming traditional thinking.” Another example is the NYT’s former pay wall for TimesSelect. While it generated significant revenue for three years, the for-fee-only content that was “hiding” the “least commoditize-able” talent at the paper had to come down in order for the paper’s online presence to grow. ”

Had the wall remained we would not be seeing the growth that we see today in our numbers. We’re up 40 percent this year… We knew we could do better by freeing up that content.”

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NYT Co. Chief Advertising Officer Discusses Plans to Help Advertisers, Increase Spending

Tuesday, Oct 21

In an effort to stem falling advertising revenues, The New York Times is being proactive. The company recently launched a new trade campaign, To The Power of The Times, designed to show advertisers the value of spending their money with the brand and also came out with an extensive marketing survey detailing how word of mouth among affluent women can help brands expand.
We spoke with Denise Warren, senior VP, chief advertising officer of The New York Times Media Group, earlier about the two campaigns. She described how they will help her company retain advertising revenue and understand its consumers better, as well as what the future holds.
"[The trade campaign] is designed to get you to focus on the impact of advertising in The New York Times," Warren said. It's equates simple, well-known mathematical formulas with the Times to show how advertising with the paper can benefit a company or brand. In the future, Warren explained that the NYT Co. will break the campaign down even further to target specific section of advertisers (fashion, retail, etc.)
The marketing survey details affluent women, and specifically a group of "Women Marketing Multipliers." "They talk more about products," Warren said. "They consume more products. And to the extent that we can help advertisers more effectively reach them, that helps advertisers create more efficiency in their advertising buys."
Was the campaign successful? "Way too soon" to tell how it's worked, Warren thought, adding that the press releases for the marketing campaign had just gone out a couple days ago and that so far, response had been positive.
So what's on tap for the future? "We are just getting the results back from an international study," Warren said. "I'm hoping we will be able to call it 'Global Marketing Multipliers' but I don't know until we get the results back. It's really an attempt to understand the global influential audience."
Posted by Noah 04:18 PM Newspapers

Here's the Women Multiplier Press Release for those that buy it, which knowing how this household functions, I do.

The New York Times Releases Results of First Ever Public Study of Word of Mouth among Affluent Women
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 20, 2008
The New York Times Customer Insight and Advertising Groups announced today the results of a study that for the first time offers detailed information about reaching a key group of affluent, female consumers who have an exponential influence on purchase decisions - the ones who spend more, know more and talk more about the products they like. This is the first major public study ever released that focuses on word of mouth among affluent women. It provides much-needed insight into reaching these key consumers in five major industries: finance, fashion, consumer electronics, automotive and travel.
Given that studies suggest that a majority of consumer purchase decisions are made or influenced by women, this research fills an important gap in understanding how to increase marketing return on investment in today's challenging economic environment.
Based on extensive qualitative interviews and a survey of more than 3,000 women with household incomes of at least $100,000, the research uncovers the behavioral and personality traits that separate these influential women, Marketing Multipliers, from other affluent women.
The study quantifies the purchasing power and influence of this vital consumer target. For example:
-- Marketing Multipliers in the consumer electronics category have almost five times as many conversations about these products than other affluent women; they spend more than twice as much; and more than half (52%) say they accompany family members on shopping trips to advise them on consumer electronics and other tech items.

-- Marketing Multipliers in the fashion category spend more than twice as much as other affluent women on clothes and accessories. They serve as walking, talking ads for their favorite brands: 76% are asked by others where they bought the clothes they are wearing (compared to only 24% of other affluent women).

-- In the travel category, Marketing Multipliers take twice as many trips, and talk more than four times as often about travel brands - including hotels, airlines and car rentals - than other affluent women.

"In a time of tight marketing budgets and an increased focus on return, this study provides advertisers a much better understanding of consumers who are powerful catalysts for purchase behavior and brand influence," said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief advertising officer, The New York Times Media Group. "The Marketing Multipliers research will help advertisers effectively reach and communicate with this key group of customers."

The New York Times research identified a combination of extensive social networks, past recommending behavior and personality traits that differentiate Marketing Multipliers from other affluent women. The findings show that while Marketing Multipliers have the exact same demographic characteristics of other affluent women, they differ in a number of important ways, including:

-- Marketing Multipliers have different media behavior, especially online, and are active contributors to the virtual world, not just passive readers. For example, they are twice as likely to post to blogs or to publish their own Web pages, compared to other women. They are also discriminating in vetting their sources: 71% of Marketing Multipliers say it is important for an ad to be "on a Web site that I consider trustworthy."

-- Helping other people, learning new things and knowing people from different walks of life are much more important to Marketing Multipliers than to other affluent women. Above all, they are plugged in to new trends: Marketing Multipliers are more than three times more likely to say being an authority - on what is in and what is out - is important to them.-- Marketing Multipliers are more likely to seek out in-depth information on products. In the investment category, for example, 45% follow up on new investment products they see advertised, and 53% of Marketing Multipliers in the Automotive category "follow information related to new safety features."

The research was conducted in conjunction with TSC (The Segmentation Company), a division of Yankelovich, which surveyed more than 3,000 affluent women across the country via an online survey. Additionally, the research company Just Ask a Woman conducted a series of in-depth, ethnographic interviews in New York and Los Angeles regarding the five topic areas.

For more information about specific industry insights and a copy of the white paper, contact Alexis Buryk at 212-556-1234.

The Panic of '08: Rating The Media Winners (And Losers) - Gawker

Although the business media can't sell any ads during an economic meltdown like the one we're having now, it sure is a great chance for reporters to make names for themselves. Business reporters absolutely live for the periodic destruction of the American economy. This is their Normandy! After the jump, we survey the media landscape and pick out the winners and losers—all your favorites, from Paul Krugman to Jim Cramer, ranked on a merciless 10-point scale!
[Ratings are on a 1-10 scale—with 10 being the best—and are based on how much the media person or outlet has benefited from the crisis, how right they've been, and how much influence they've had.]

WINNERS

Paul Krugman, NYT: Yea, he just won the Nobel Prize, okay? [10]

Robert Thomson, WSJ: Thomson led the WSJ's recent redesign and re-imagination—which proved perfect for the big, scary headlines necessary over the last month. [9]

Joe Nocera, NYT, and Bethany McLean, Fortune: Scored roughly a million-dollar deal to write the "definitive" book about the crisis. These two are certainly qualified to do it, but still—lucky bastards. [9]

Maria Bartiromo, CNBC: The Money Honey is still the public face of CNBC, which owned this crisis top to bottom. [8]

Lionel Barber, FT: Editor of the paper that's been consistently serious enough for long enough not to make anyone wonder about its political motives when the crisis went down. [8]

Andrew Ross Sorkin, NYT: Wunderkind M&A reporter and Dealbook chief who is just everywhere. He got a shitload of money for a book. [8]

Steve Liesman, CNBC: Senior economic reporter, and a man who's been getting way more face time with Wall Street big shots lately than their wives have. [8]

John Gapper, FT: Chief business commentator at the solid pink paper, he's been admirably hard on the villains. [7]

Charlie Rose, PBS: Landed a big interview with Warren Buffett—the last investor anybody trusts. [7]

John Carney, Clusterstock: He left Dealbreaker in the midst of all this as possibly the most visible young, bloggin', new media name who actually knows what the hell is going on. [7]

Felix Salmon, Portfolio: He's one of the better finance bloggers and has managed to stay on top of the crisis consistently, when not working on 12,000 word analyses of the Gawker pay structure. [6]

Daniel Gross, Newsweek: Maybe smartest of all, plans a "quickie electronic book" to be published before the end of the year. Do less work, get out first, heyo! [6]

LOSERS

Fox Business Network: Yes, the little network finally got a measurable audience because of the crisis, and yes, they go to throw some decent shots at Jim Cramer. But the comparison to CNBC just makes them look bad. [4]

Charlie Gasparino, CNBC: Got a lot of airtime as a talking head, which is good for him. Was working on a book about reckless leaders at Wall Street firms like Bear Stearns before Bear Stearns collapsed, which could mean a lot of pain in the ass rewriting. Comes off as a bit of wingnut by trying to pin the whole meltdown on Obama. [4]

Andrea Mitchell, NBC: Trying to report while being married to Alan Greenspan, one of the guys most responsible for this whole thing. Ha. Time to retire, maybe? [3]

Book Publishers: Who's going to buy all these books? [2]

Jim Cramer, CNBC: Gave intermittently terrible advice, then made it worse when he tried to correct it. Overly emotional, which is not the thing people want in a money manager. See a roundup of his whole weird year here. [1]

COMMENTS (IW - as ever with Gawker, their comments often interesting)

The Doctor 4:30 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Those are some moneymakers I have no interest in seeing shake.

The Doctor Those are some moneymakers I have no interest in seeing...


4:52 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008 1 reply
Spirit Fingers 4:52 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Can we put Suze Orman in the loser pile? I don't know what she's said over the last few weeks, but the orange skin is appalling.

Spirit Fingers Can we put Suze Orman in the loser pile? I don't know...
1 reply by SaraRueful

SaraRueful 5:13 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
@Spirit Fingers: I hate her creepy zombie eyes. When I was commuting on Metro-North I switched seats once because her poster was right in front of me. {shudders}

SaraRueful @ Spirit Fingers : I hate her creepy zombie eyes. When I...


4:52 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008 3 replies
Cannot Find Server 4:52 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
NPR's been knocking it out of the park too. The "This American Life" that explained everything two weeks ago (entitled, aptly, "Another Frightening Show About the Economy") was clear-headed, full of common sense, and completely free of shouty nonsense. I knew nothing before that show, now I understand most of this crisis.
Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg deserve an award for their work on that show alone.

Cannot Find Server NPR's been knocking it out of the park too. The "This...
3 replies by mfnher, encnyc, La Mareada

mfnher 4:58 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
@Cannot Find Server: I don't know if that was the same one they did on the mortgage crisis. I think the one your mentioning is the follow up. Either way, they're both great. I work in the industry and whenever my friends ask me what's going on, I just tell them to download the This American Life episodes.

mfnher @ Cannot Find Server : I don't know if that was the same...

encnyc 6:06 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
@Cannot Find Server: If netting didnt scare the hell out of you, nothing will. Totally agree that NPR, especially via This American Life, has done the best reporting on the financial meltdown by calmly explaining the insanity that was its cause.

encnyc @ Cannot Find Server : If netting didnt scare the hell...

La Mareada 6:13 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
@Cannot Find Server: Davidson & Blumberg have a daily podcast called Planet Money so you can be more scared and smarter than anybody else everyday.

La Mareada @ Cannot Find Server : Davidson & Blumberg have a...


4:55 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Phyllis Nefler 4:55 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
John Carney also kicks a hell of a field goal for YOUR SUPER BOWL CHAMPION NEW. YORK. GIANTS!
Oh and he's running for office in Delaware too.

Phyllis Nefler John Carney also kicks a hell of a field goal for YOUR...


5:53 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Felix 5:53 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
It was 5,000 words, tops.

Felix It was 5,000 words, tops.


6:04 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
ZiggyStardust 6:04 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Hamilton-- Ben White moving from the Financial Times to the New York Times-- and racking up gobs of front-pagers should make him a winner as well.
Ditto WaPo's Steve Pearlstein, WSJ's Dave Enrich, Robin Sidel and Damian Paletta, the American Banker staff (who have been pounding the pavement hard) and a number of others...

ZiggyStardust Hamilton-- Ben White moving from the Financial Times to...


6:16 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Dave J. 6:16 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Larry Kudlow should be on the losers list, just basically because he's a huge loser who really sucks.

Dave J. Larry Kudlow should be on the losers list, just...


10:19 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
david 10:19 PM on Wed Oct 15 2008
Don't forget Yves Smith at Nakedcapitalism, most relentless high quality coverage of the carnage so far.

david Don't forget Yves Smith at Nakedcapitalism, most...


12:47 AM
missdelite 12:47 AM
I learned alot from CNN's Glenn Beck Show.

missdelite I learned alot from CNN's Glenn Beck Show.


10:27 AM
Monte Wooley 10:27 AM
"Roughly a million dollar deal?" So let's say it's really 800K, less commission, leaving 680K, less taxes, leaving 350K, and finally split in half, so that's 175K each. Those are blog-book numbers, my dear. Harumph.

Monte Wooley "Roughly a million dollar deal?" So let's say it's...

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