Janet Robinson

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. and Janet Robinson reported grim second-quarter results today—ad revenue down another 10 percent versus the second quarter last year, net income down to $21 million versus the $118 million they made this quarter last year—and just dropped a small bombshell:

"We plan to increase the daily newsstand price of the Times from $1.25 to $1.50," said Ms. Robinson on a conference call with investors this morning. It goes into effect on August 18.

The paper last raised newsstand prices last July.

NYT Co. stock took another nosedive today, dropping 2.73 percent to $12.85. That means in the last week, Times Company stock has fallen $2.21, or 15 percent.

The big hit came after Craig Huber, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, wrote to investors last week: "We continue to think the board and management would think long and hard about selling assets and repurchasing shares again until it gets a much better handle on where the fundamentals of the newspaper industry are going."

The Times stock tumbled even further today than initially projected, closing at $13.62, down from the $14.01 it held at closing time yesterday, which was 7 percent down from the day before.

As we speak, New York Times company stock is at $13.72, its lowest level since October 1998.

Times stock fell 7 percent yesterday, and it's down another 2 percent today after Lehman Brothers analyst Craig Huber wrote in a note to clients yesterday predicting that Times stock would only continue to fall. He cut his price target for the stock to $8 from $11 and wrote, "New York Times shares should follow its weakening fundamentals over time." That's because everything in the world of newspapers is tanking:

Ad revenue at the flagship New York Times likely will drop 9.1 percent this year, more than the 7.  read more »

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New York Times CEO Janet Robinson in today's conference call:

From a standpoint of coverage, I think it's clear The Wall Street Journal is positioning quite differently in terms of overall coverage, broadening very much in the international and political arena, and, with the launch of their magazine, entering into broader lifestyle coverage.  read more »

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Times CEO Plans “Town Meetings” at the Globe to Address Downturn    read more »

Times CEO Plans “Town Meetings” at the Globe to Address Downturn    read more »

New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. gave the first of his 2006 State of the Times addresses at 10:30 this morning at the New Amsterdam Theatre. In his opening remarks, Sulzberger discussed the paper's efforts to expand its online and digital operations in a newspaper industry that's mired in struggle. "The intro was clearly about how tumultuous things are," one staffer said.

Things were also a bit tumultuous in the open question-and-answer period following Sulzberger's scripted remarks. Several staffers asked Sulzberger about stock grants awarded to senior Times executives, citing an Observer report that showed Sulzberger receiving some $800,000 in shares in 2005, while CEO Janet Robinson received $2 million in shares and $4 million in options.

In response, Sulzberger told the audience that his compensation is set at 60 percent of what average executives in his position earn.

Staffers also asked the publisher why he had ended the employee stock-purchase program, which had allowed staffers to buy New York Times Company stock at a 15 percent discount. Sulzberger said the decision to eliminate the program was a "painful choice to make," according to a staffer present--but that since the New York Times' stock isn't gaining value, "staffers shouldn't worry about it."

--Gabriel Sherman