Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- People are lining up in Santa Monica to rent Whitey Bulger's old pad. I have to admit that I'd think it pretty cool to live in the digs too.

- The lede paragraph is the bomb! As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could explode!

- New York Times sells part of Red Sox stake for $117 million. This tells you two thing - John Henry and Company know how to run a business and the New York Times is cash starved because they do not.

- I got a kick out of these.

- Donald Rumsfeld explains the dangers in making the wrong cuts in Defense spending - and as is his way instead of just complaining about things Rumsfeld makes some common sense suggestions on how to handle the problem. One thing he didn't mention was ending our relationship with NATO. I'd be curious to know his feelings on that.

- Harpo Marx Telegram to John F. Kennedy July 14, 1960

- DARPA's first crowdsourced military vehicle.

The Red Sox the Buy the Boston Globe?

The Boston Herald today reported a rumor that principal Red Sox owner John Henry has mad overtures to purchase back the 17% of the Red Sox as well as the struggling Boston Globe from the New York Time Co.

I have no doubt that John Henry has probably indicated his willingness to buy-back the shares in the Red Sox. It makes sense that the Red Sox would want to get the 17% of the club the NYT owns. The valuation of the Red Sox keeps going up. The question is why would the Red Sox want the Boston Globe? Why would they want to do a reverse Tribune / Chicago Cubs situation?

The answer is - they probably don't want to buy the Boston Globe but that may be part of the cost of doing business to get that 17% back. If that was the case - then I wouldn't be surprised if the Worcester Telegram was also made part of the package since that central Mass paper is also owned by the NYT Co.

The smart money says that this never happens. The Red Sox have no need to take on distressed properties. They can let the New York Times continue to struggle and maybe get good terms for that 17% from the bankruptcy judge when the New York Times eventually has to sleep in the bed that they have been making.

The Boston Globe

The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut The Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions swiftly agree to $20 million in concessions, union leaders said yesterday.

Seeing how the above sentence is taken from Boston.com - the Globe's website - you would have to say that the threat is real. I must say that I'm stunned.

Stunned at how completely incompetent the upper management of the New York Times Co. continues to be. The Boston Globe was purchased in 1993 for $1.1 billion and now it may be shuttered unless it can shave $20 million off operating costs? Please.

I have no doubt that some of the cuts and concessions are necessary but the real problem here is not the economy, it is not the state of the newspaper industry - it is the senior management of New York Times Co. Specifically Pinch Sulzberger - the man who has almost single-handedly turned New York Times Co. stock into junk.

I have no doubt that the Boston Globe will fail as a business if its fate remains in the hands of such a klutz as Sulzberger. No doubt. It is time for local ownership to take back the Globe. Someone like Jack Welsh. That's the only way the Globe will survive. The concessions being called for today are just a band-aid on a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Jack Welsh to Buy Boston Globe?

OK - if it is true that Morgan Stanley has just dumped its 7.3% stake in the New York Times Company then this could just start a chain of events that results in Jack Welsh owning not just the Boston Globe but also a piece of the Boston Red Sox. If Morgan Stanley dumped the stock then other institutional stockholders will be forced to follow suit. The New York Times Company may be forced into doing something drastic to raise the stock price. Something drastic like selling the Boston Globe to Jack Welsh.

This is not the first time I banged this drum. This is what I wrote last July:

Here's something to keep in the back of your head - the conditions are becoming ripe for Jack Welsh (former CEO of GE) to purchase the Boston Globe.

Follow me here.

Last year Jack Welsh admitted that he was interested in purchasing the Boston Globe but at that time the New York Times Co. was not interested in selling. Circumstances may have changed.

Consider that we have just hit record highs in the stock market but the New York Times Co. stock continues to flounder. In fact just this week the bond rating for the New York Times Co. drop to just a BBB rating which is barely above the ratings for junk bonds. The folks at the NYT Co. may be forced into doing anything they can to raise their bond rating to prevent a massive sell-off and a free-fall in stock price. Selling the Boston Globe and some associated assets may be the only route to take.

Why would Jack Welsh want to buy the Globe though? I guess the reasons could be varied. He's retired and needs something to do. He used to be a golf nut but his health forced him to quit the game. His wife, Suzy Wetlaufer, is a former journalist who used to be a reporter for the Associated Press and also the former editor of the Harvard Business Review. The Boston Globe could be a project they could do together.

Welsh is a smart businessman and I wouldn't be surprised to see him also acquire the Boston.com site and the New York Times Co.'s partial ownership in the Boston Red Sox as part of any deal. Welsh is a big Red Sox fan - so this must add to the appeal of the deal to the retired former CEO.Also don't forget that turn-arounds are a Neutron Jack specialty. That challenge has to be very enticing.

Don't forget that part of the group Welsh would head includes Jack Connors the co-founder of the powerhouse Boston advertising firm Hill Holliday. Who better to fix the advertising and circulation problems that are plaguing the Globe than Welsh and Connors?

I for one hope this happens.