(FILES) This file photo taken on April 21, 2011 shows The New York Times logo is seen on the headquarters building in New York City. The New York Times announced cutbacks April 26, 2016 to its longtime European hub in Paris, with plans to close its editing and prepress print production operations in the French capital. Those functions will be combined into the Times's New York and Hong Kong operations, resulting in the loss of 70 Paris jobs, either through elimination or relocation, it said. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / STR
WASHINGTON: The New York Times announced cutbacks Tuesday to its longtime Paris hub as the US publisher struggles to keep its international print edition alive as readers turn more to digital.
The Times said it plans to close its editing and prepress print production operations in the French capital, folding them into its New York and Hong Kong offices.
The result will be the loss of 70 Paris jobs, out of a total staff in the city of 113, either through elimination or relocation.
The company said the moves are necessary to keep its global print version, the International New York Times, “more economically sustainable in an increasingly digital world,” according to an internal memo.
The newspaper will also undergo a redesign to boost the breadth and depth of analysis and opinion “on topics that are most meaningful and pertinent to international audiences,” said the memo from publisher Arthur Sulzberger, chief executive Mark Thompson, and executive editor Dean Baquet.
“Print remains a vital platform to The New York Times,” they stressed.
“Without these changes, the international paper’s future would be uncertain at best.”
Digital priority
Nevertheless, the Times has placed its priorities on growth in digital media, aiming to boost its international subscriber base more from online and mobile users than print readers.
Earlier this month, it announced plans to invest US$50mil (RM195.9mil) in the digital side of the business, creating a new “international digital growth team“ focused both on content and advertising.
“Every part of the company, the newsroom, product and technology, advertising and consumer marketing, and data and analytics, among others, needs to think creatively about attracting and retaining a bigger non-American audience and growing revenue outside the US,” it said.
Speaking Tuesday to a Times reporter, Baquet more directly highlighted the rise of the digital side of the operation in the move.
The Paris cuts are “about changing the way we’re built so that we’re not just built for print,” he said.
“I think we need to free up resources to build a digital report, and I think that’s what it boils down to.”
The move comes nearly three years after the Times-controlled, Paris-based 125-year-old International Herald Tribune was rebranded as the International New York Times and further integrated into the Times’s operations. - AFP
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