Monday, May 4, 2009

The Boston Globe May Shut Down

The New York Times Co., which owns the Boston Globe, filed a "WARN" notice yesterday, which states that the Globe may be shut down in 60 days.

The Times Co. had been in negotiations with the Globe's various unions for several months, and last night was the deadline for the unions to make $20 million in concessions. The Teamsters union that represents the Globe's drivers made $2.5 million in concessions yesterday, but the other groups are holding out and accusing Times' management of bullying.

I cannot believe that the Globe might actually close down. I always thought it was the weakest of the major papers (something about the writing style never worked for me -- maybe too casual/informal?), but if there's a single city in America that I'd expect to support a print newspaper the longest, even given people's transition to reading the news on the internet, it would be Boston.