New York Times to shrink page size, slash jobs

The New York Times Co. is drawing up layouts to shrink the size of its pages by 11 per cent in an effort to counteract a steady rise in newsprint costs.

The New York Times, which like other newspaper publishers is combating with lower circulation and weak advertising as readers move towards the Internet, said on Tuesday it would reduce the size of its flagship newspaper, to a width of 12 inches from 13.5 inches.

The move, which will come in effect in 2008, represents one of the most spectacular adjustments to the paper's appearance in its 155-year history. The move is expected to save the company $ 12m per year. Capital spending on the changes will be approximately $ 150 million.

The paper's publisher also said it planned to save an additional $ 30m per year by consolidating printing operations at its plant in Queens, New York., resulting in the slash of nearly 250 production staff.

The American media company said it would sublet its Edison, New Jersey, plant.

A diversified media company, including newspapers and related Internet businesses, television and radio stations, and forest products and other investments, and which in addition to The New York Times publishes the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe, also reported second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations. Its shares dropped 2%.

The recent move is another indication of the turmoil in the newspaper business, where publishers are combating to maintain profit margins at a time when readers and advertisers are migrating to the internet.

The changes of size at The New York Times are likely to result in a 5% loss of news space. Bill Keller, executive editor, said the paper would try to offset the loss in editorial space with tighter editing and by adding pages.

"Our research has shown that readers, particularly young readers and commuters, prefer the smaller size," said Times Chief Executive and President Janet Robinson.
The company earned $ 61.3m, or 42 cents per share, compared to $ 60.8m, or 42 cents per share, during the same period a year earlier.

Janet Robinson touted the fact that the company had already reduced its annual costs by $ 100m over the past two years. She also promised more savings in the future.