Systemic Failure in Newspaper Business

The New York Times Co., which owns the Boston Globe and other properties, is contemplating shutting down the Globe's newspaper business within a matter of weeks. The Times simply can't find a way to make money, and they're selling anything and everything that either has a chance of making money to keep the Times afloat or canning entire businesses because they have no chance of making money.

Some see this as a ploy to extract more concessions from the unions that continue to ignore reality and the failings of the newspaper business model.

The Times has already engaged in a sale-leaseback of its headquarters in New York City to raise capital, and it looks like they're trying to sell the company's share of the Boston Red Sox to majority owner John Henry. That's probably the most profitable sector of the company, which has lost most of its share value and net worth over the past few years. Editorial decisions haven't helped either, as the paper essentially caters to less than 50% of the marketplace.

Instapundit thinks that this is a lose-lose situation for the unions and the company. I see it as poetic justice for the leftists at the paper who now have to play union-breaker after hollering about how other businesses and industries treat unions so poorly. The reality is that the unions and management here have done such a poor job adjusting to the economic situation, that both are going to suffer all the more for it.