More Signs of the Times: NYT Suspends Dividend, MPA Loses More Members
There are weeks when it feels as though the demise of print suddenly accelerates and this might be one of them.
After more than a year of refusing to cut its dividend — it finally did so back in November — the New York Times Co. has decided to do away with it altogether, though the term they are using is “suspend.” In a month long period that has seen the Times borrowing $260 million from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, and selling a portion of its new building, this is just further evidence of the paper’s financial struggles. One wonders at what point a seven dollar a month online subscription fee stops seeming sacrilegious.
Meanwhile, more magazine companies have announced they are abandoning the MPA ship.
Both New York and American Media are following Hachette Filipacchi’s lead and are withdrawing their membership.
The MPA declined to comment on American Media but expressed disappointment about New York. “We regret that New York magazine can no longer sustain its membership in MPA during these challenging times,” the association said in a statement. “We look forward to New York magazine rejoining MPA when business conditions improve.”
According to the Post: “Hachette and American Media were each paying somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000 in annual dues, sources said. New York Media paid less money.”
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