this article was last updated on Monday, Feb. 2:
New York Observer print media reporter John Koblin spent Wednesday trying to figure out the odds of survival of America's paper of record.
New earnings reports showed that the New York Times Co. had lost $57.8 million in 2008 and was putting its stake in the Boston Red Sox up for sale, in a bid to find enough cash to keep operating.
It was that kind of week for media reporters, on the front lines of chronicling the demise of their own institutions. (Oddly enough, the same week as the launch of this digital publication, TheWrap.) But even in the context of this period of colossal layoffs, plunging revenues and bleeding Wall Street, it was a particularly hellish few days.
- The Los Angeles Times killed its California section on Friday, the main section that covers local news, and announced upcoming layoffs of 300 staffers, including 70 newsroom workers. The was covered in the paper under this headline: "L.A. paper loses local news section." Rumors are widespread that the foreign desk staff may be elimnated entirely.
- Thirty staffers were let go on Monday from Reed Business, which cut employees at Variety, Publishers Weekly, 411, Video Business and Trade Show Week. Now word comes from insiders that Weekly Variety , a 103-year-old publication, may be eliminated.
- Page Six Magazine, formerly a weekly, said today it is cutting back to four issues per year.
- The Washington Post said it will end regular publication of its weekly Book World section, one of the last remaining stand-alone book review sections left among daily newspapers.
- The McClatchy Co. - which publishes 30 newspapers including the Miami Herald and Sacramento Bee - said Tuesday it would it will suspend paying its quarterly dividend "for the foreseeable future" to save cash to help pay off its debts.
- Condé Nast Publications announced its intention to shutter Domino, its shopping and home décor magazine.
And apparently more cuts are on the way at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, with reports of layoffs and buy-outs of 50 staffers coming next week.The danger signs at The New York Times - which only about a week ago got a cash infusion of $250 million from Mexican investor Carlos Slim - is a fast-flashing light.
The paper has seen ad revenue tumble at a staggering rate both in print and online. Though digital ad revenue rose 9.3% over the course of 2008, internet ad sales fell 3.5% during the fourth-quarter -- an indication that the paper's Web site is still trying to figure out how to become as profitable as its print version once was.
That probably means more elimination of newsprint. "If we were to lose the Sunday Styles section, would that be a cultural and societal catastrophe? I don't think so," said Slate's Jack Shafer.
