So what now for The Boston Globe?

Employees voted down a proposal for major concessions, so the New York Times Co. said it will declare an impasse and impose 23% pay cuts effective June 25.

A nice, disinterested and detailed analysis is here: http://www.cabot.net/Issues/CWA/Archives/2009/06/Newspaper-Controversy.aspx

It's not clear what the NYT's long-term strategy is to salvage something from this disaster. It's amazing that the Globe had reached this state, really. If the Boston Herald can hold on, somehow, it may emerge as the last man standing in the Boston media market, which is truly stunning. I don't think you could have gotten 1 out of a hundred people to predict that the Herald would outlast the Globe.

The disappearance of the Globe might also be somewhat beneficial, at least in the short term, for some of the major suburban papers such as the Lowell Sun, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune and The Patriot Ledger, all of which compete against the Globe in their own backyards.

It's sad because the NYT's problems with The Globe are truly self-inflicted. It bought The Globe for $1.1 Billion, which was never a rational price. Indeed, it could have paid just half that and still would have found itself with an overpriced possession. Even before things turned south so dramatically recently, the business plan made no sense.

While some may benefit from the Globe's demise, many more will suffer and it won't be good for journalism or the public to lose the Boston Globe.