Times Co. says it will not sell Worcester paper

AP News | 2009-12-07 22:10:29

<div id="subtitle">New York Times Co. says Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass. will not be sold</div><div><p>The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester will not be sold and will remain part of New York Times Co.'s New England Media Group, the company announced Monday.</p><p>"The progress that has been made this year at the T&G is impressive and we look forward to continued improvement," Times Co. publisher Arthur Sulzberger and president and CEO Janet Robinson said in a joint statement.</p><p>Times Co. announced in October that it would not sell its largest New England property, The Boston Globe, but left open the possibility of selling the Worcester newspaper.</p><p>A group led by retired T&G editor Harry Whitin and Polar Beverages Co. CEO Ralph Crowley said it had made an undisclosed bid for the newspaper. Billionaire real estate magnate Jeff Greene, a Worcester native, had also expressed interest in the T&G through his Florida-based investment company.</p><p>"What has become abundantly apparent is that the T&G is making substantial progress in transforming every part of its journalistic and business operations," Sulzberger and Robinson said in their letter.</p><p>"As a result, you are doing an even better job in meeting the needs of your readers and your communities in Central Massachusetts."</p><p>The Times Co. executives cited a redesign of the T&G into a single-edition newspaper, a more user-friendly classified section, and creation of regional weekly publications.</p><p>They also credited management with successfully implementing a series of price increases.</p><p>The changes were difficult, Sulzberger and Robinson acknowledged, resulting in "significant staffing reductions."</p><p>The newspaper's publisher, Bruce Gaultney, said the paper is positioned to take advantage of a recovering economy.</p><p>"We've had an eventful year. We had some significant improvements to our newspaper, to our Web site, and we had strong support from our local community," he said.</p><p>Times Co. bought the 143-year-old newspaper, the largest in central Mass., for $296 million in 2000.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=64975314&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>


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