According to an AP story on MSNBC, a group of Boston businessmen, including Jack Welch, are interested in buying the Boston Globe from the New York Times Co.
“Welch, Connors, and O’Donnell began discussing a potential bid for the Globe several months ago. An analysis done for them by investment bank JP Morgan Chase & Co. valued the Globe at $550 million to $600 million, about half the $1.1 billion the Times Co. paid for the paper in 1993.
“The Times Co. reported last month that advertising revenue for its New England Media Group
With a dismal record like that, would anyone be surprised if within the next two years, the Globe does change hands?
I for one would vote for new ownership, sooner rather than later. The Globe has not done well, editorially or financially, since the NYT bought it. Just ask the 200 or so employees who got buyout offers recently.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Times, lured by the affluence of the Boston market, failed to think that through when it bought the Globe back in 1993: that same affluence has brought about the third highest broadband penetration in the US, causing a “quick migration from traditional print media.”