Pulitzers may not be enough to save NYT

22 April 2009

At the same time as its journalists won five Pulitzer awards, New York Times Co posted its widest first-quarter loss in recent times, thanks to a 27-per cent drop in advertising revenue. The US newspaper conglomerate also said the rate of decline in ad sales will be similar in the second quarter.

The company's net loss increased to $74.5 million, or 52 cents a share, from $335,000 a year earlier, the newspaper publisher said in a statement on Tuesday. Sales fell 19 per cent to $609 million.

The company has already cut jobs, slashed pay, halted dividends, and sold assets to help preserve cash after ad revenue slipped 13 per cent last year. The Boston Globe, one of the company's major newspapers, has reported some of the steepest losses.

New York Times, which also owns the International Herald Tribune, is seeking to sell its minority stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and is negotiating additional pay and job cuts with unions.

''Like many companies across America and in our industry, the challenges we face intensified in the first quarter,'' said Janet Robinson, president and chief executive of the New York Times.

''Advertisers pulled back on print placements in all categories - national, retail and especially classified. Digital revenues also declined, although modestly, as a result of the weakening economy. Circulation revenue increased slightly as we benefited from price increases at our newspapers,'' she said.