The New York Times caught between Wall Street and Wall Street. On one side of the The Street, the group faces a major offensive of the Harbinger/Firebrand hedge fund which now owns 10.5% of its stock. The attacker is pushing hard for a board upheaval. In response, the Times made some changes on his board by nominating an internet expert (Dawn Lepore, CEO of Drugstore.com and an eBay board member) and a seasoned financier Robert Denham, former CEO of Salomon. But the Times board has no intention of letting Harbinger representatives in.
Activists-led campaigns are on the rise in the United States, and media groups are good targets with their great brand, shifting business model and trailing stocks — the NYT Co’s share is at a 11 years low. (Plus, this comes after Morgan Stanley’s decision to end its two years campaign for change at the NYT by dumping its 7% stake).
On the other side of Wall Street, the Times is facing an increasing competition with the “The Journal”. Rupert Murdoch, its new owner, makes no mystery of hos goal: taking The New York Times’s position. To beat Rupert back, the NYT can’t forever rely on its well-worn hauteur. It must remain on the offensive on both print and digital fronts. This is detailed in Bill Keller’s speech before his troops last week. In it, the editor of the New York Times outlines an impressive list of product-related actions undertaken in the last five years, the integration of the newsroom – with print and web being produced seamlessly – remaining quite an achievement. At the same time, he announces a 100 jobs cut in its 1300 plus staff.
Actvists investors campaigns are at al time high.
> story in the Wall Street Journal
> a recent Bloomberg story about the Times situation
“Shareholders in general do not have the ability to run a company. They are fickle and irresponsible. They only take on a limited responsibility, but they greedily demand high dividend payments.” Who says that ? Takao Kitabata, the vice-minister of Japan’s powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) does.
> He is quoted in a story about Japanese rebuttal of foreign activists investorsin The Economist.
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