Boston Globe to close !!!??!

Wow, this is unexpected, even by someone as gloomy as me.

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/04/times_co_threatens_to_shut_globe_seeks_20m_in_cuts_from_unions/

Interestingly enough, this story appears on the Globe's Web site and is very direct and candid. Usually corporate media stories that are self-referential are also rather deferential. I would interpret this as meaning the situation is as serious as a heart attack and contains less than the usual amount of posturing.

I've wondered for a while if the Boston Herald's long-term business strategy is to outlast the Globe and end up the surviving paper in Boston by default. I don't believe the Herald is burdened by much debt and indeed, may have much less than the industry average after getting about $225 million a few years ago when it sold its suburban newspaper chain.

It won't be surprising if Boston ends up as a one-newspaper town. Most similar sized cities are. But it would be surprising if that newspaper ends up being the Herald!

There were many reasons to be wary of the Times purchase of the Globe. Boston and New York have been rival cities for centuries. Just as the Red Sox and the Yankees have a long-standing rivalry, the NYT and the Globe were major rivals for years before the NYT brought the competition to an end by buying the Globe. Many wondered if the New York-based newspaper executive suite would really have the interests of the Globe at heart and the way this episode is playing out validates those concerns.