Jack Welch now says it’s obvious that the New York Times Co. isn’t going to sell the Globe to him and advertising honcho Jack Connors. “There was a time when it would have been right,” Welch said in a speech at MIT, according to an account by Reuters. “Management has made it very clear to us that they have no interest in selling the Globe.”
This is not a big surprise. The Times Co. hasn’t budged since last fall, when Welch first made his interest known. (In keeping with the theme of the day, I’ll point out that Mike Barnicle somehow figured into all of this.) Times Co. chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. apparently believes there are better days ahead for the Globe. As a reader, I hope he’s right. (Via Romenesko.)
Discover more from Media Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So is the Globe still in play, Dan?Or perhaps it never was?
Of course it was, Mike. Welch’s move even sparked a shareholder revolt at the Times Co., with the two-tier stock structure coming under assault. The Sulzbergers held off the Visigoths, and that’s where we are today.
Why doesn’t Welch just start his own newspaper? It is much easier to start a newspaper than to buy one. In addition, there are a ton of former Globe employees – as well as other journalists like myself – who are out of work and could use the jobs.
It may be easier to start a newspaper than to buy one, Tony. It’s a lot harder to start a newspaper that becomes established than it is to buy one that is already established.
Mike, I don’t know. You might be correct. But, let’s look at the prices they are floating around for the Globe. With that kinda money, I could build a Pulitzer Prize-winning news organization in less than a few years!