原文以及參考翻譯轉載自天下雜誌網站
首先是我自己的練習：
卡洛斯‧史林姆，一個墨西哥大亨突然大筆投資紐約時報，這對萎縮中的美國報業算是相當好的消息。
雖然Ochs-Sulzberger家族的人並沒有表示出這樣的意願，但先前不少人認為紐約時報近期有可能發標。
史林姆先生表示他認為投資紐約時報相當值得。近年來，比起投資銀行，投資報業還比較好。當網路的崛起衝擊著原本的紙本報業之後，紐約時報如預期的存活下來，但不表示他們就沒有面臨危機。之前的裁員，以及合併經濟跟體育版以節省印刷成本等等的變化證明了這一點。但是合併版面節省下的錢仍然比不上銷售量下降所帶來的衝擊。再加上廣告業在美國經濟不景氣的這一段時間也受到波及，美國最大報業公司在9月15日指出，今年的廣告登報率減低了17%。
許多的報業過的比紐約時報糟很多，例如紐約太陽報最近面臨倒閉。美國第三大的報業巨頭，McClatchy也宣布要進行大規模的裁員才能預防公司破產倒閉的危機。另一個百萬富翁，山姆‧雷爾，去年則是買下了論壇報集團(包括芝加哥論壇報，和LA時報等等)。現在正在進行裁員，以及變賣公司資產(例如芝加哥少棒隊)。仍然，雷爾努力不會讓這著投資拖垮他。
原文(from 經濟學人，從天下雜誌網站連結)
Published:The Economist September 26, 2008
A billionaire makes a surprising investment in the New York Times
IT SAYS a lot about the mood in American business today that an investment by a Mexican tycoon in the New York Times is widely regarded as good news. The realisation that beggars cannot be choosers has weakened the usual protectionist impulses, at least in the case of the recent purchase of 6.4% of the Gray Lady by Carlos Slim. Instead of bashing the Mexican telecoms billionaire for buying a piece of a great American institution, there has been relief that such a shrewd businessman is prepared to give a vote of confidence to an ailing firm in a deeply troubled industry.
Mr Slim is not alone in his confidence. Until they were hit by this week's stockmarket plunge, shares in the New York Times Company—which also owns the Boston Globe, among other newspapers—had risen by around 20% from their low in July. Perhaps that was due to speculation that a bid for the company was imminent. But there is no evidence that the Ochs-Sulzberger family wants to sell its controlling stake, and it is not riven with the intergenerational conflicts that led the Bancroft family to capitulate to Rupert Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones last year.
As for Mr Slim, his interest in the New York Times is said to be that of a passive investor who has seen the opportunity to invest in a great brand at an attractive price. Hence the sighs of relief at the paper's swanky new Manhattan headquarters. Yet is this really the time for investors to return to the American newspaper industry—which in recent years has been almost as good a way to squander money as buying shares in an investment bank?
When the restructuring of the industry caused by the rise of the internet is finally over, the New York Times will surely be one of the surviving brands. Yet it may have plenty of pain to go through before then. There are early signs that the decision to give seats on the firm's board to representatives of two activist hedge-funds, Harbinger Capital and Firebrand Partners, has led to a greater focus on cost-cutting. Following recent job cuts, the latest cost-saving wheeze is combining the previously separate business and sports sections to reduce printing costs.
Yet such savings are small compared with the impact of the paper's falling circulation—down 3.9% year-on-year according to the latest figures—and a sharp deterioration in the advertising market as America's economic gloom deepens. Gannett, America's largest newspaper company, highlighted how severe conditions have become when it revealed a 17% year-on-year decline in advertising revenues on September 15th. True, many other papers are in worse shape than the New York Times. Its feisty local rival, the New York Sun, is reportedly in danger of being closed. And McClatchy, America's third-largest newspaper company, announced a wave of job cuts on September 16th. Its debt is now distressed, and the company is cutting its dividend in half as it tries to stay out of the bankruptcy courts.
Meanwhile Mr Slim's fellow billionaire, Sam Zell, who bought the Tribune group (which owns the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, among others) last year, is firing lots of journalists and trying to raise money by selling assets such as the Tribune building and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, in a market where it is hard to get a good price for anything. Still, Mr Zell is not letting this get him down. Later this month he is throwing a lavish birthday party, with entertainment provided by The Eagles—even though his decision to buy Tribune must now feel a bit like having checked in at the Hotel California.
參考翻譯(from 天下雜誌)
紐約時報重整，美國報業岌岌可危？
作者：經濟學人 出處：Web Only 2008/09
相關關鍵字：經濟學人
美國的商務現況似乎已削弱慣常的保護主義色彩。當近期墨西哥電信業鉅子史林姆（Carlos Slim）買下《紐約時報》(New York Times) 6.4％的股權後，不但未遭痛砭，反而讓許多人鬆了一口氣，認為這是一個精明的生意人對美國岌岌可危的報業投下信任的一票。
在本周股市暴跌之前，紐約時報公司的股價，已經由7月的低點上升了20％左右，這可能是因為收購傳聞所造成的影響。而據聞史林姆之所以收購紐約時報，是以一個被動投資人的立場，抓緊機會，以一個具有吸引力的價格來投資優良企業品牌。然而，對其投資人而言，現在真的是重返美國報業的好時機嗎？
網際網路的興起，促成了報業的重整。當這波浪潮結束後，紐約時報肯定將會是倖存者之一，然而在此之前仍有一段艱辛的路要走。除了最近的裁員之外，紐約時報削減成本的措施還包括了將原本獨立的商業及體育版面合而為一，以降低印刷成本。
但這些措施所能省下的金額，與報紙發行量下降和廣告市場大幅衰退所造成的衝擊相比，仍相當有限。9月15日，全美最大的甘納特報系集團(Gannett)宣佈，今年的廣告收入比去年同期下降17 ％。而競爭對手之一的《紐約太陽報》(New York Sun)據傳已面臨倒閉風險。9月16日，美國第三大報業集團麥克拉齊(McClatchy)也宣佈裁員，該公司目前面臨嚴重債務問題，並試圖以削減一半的股息來避免破產。
與此同時，去年剛買下旗下擁有芝加哥論壇報和洛杉磯時報的論壇集團(Tribune)的澤爾(Sam Zell)，也正裁撤大量記者，並試圖以出售資產–例如論壇集團大樓和芝加哥小熊隊–的方式來籌集資金。(陳智菁譯)
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