Globe Talks to Begin Again Amid Reprieve

Given the precarious nature of the news biz, more than a few Providence media types are keeping a close eye on the Boston Globe drama up the road.

The New York Times Co., owner of the Globe, had threatened to file notification that it would close the paper within 60 days if it had not wrung $20 million in concessions out of the paper's labor unions by yesterday.

After winning agreements from six of the seven unions for about $10 million in savings, though, the company backed off the threat. The lone holdout - the Boston Newspaper Guild - is the largest of the paper's unions, representing about 600 editorial, advertising and business staff. The paper is seeking $10 million in concessions from the union and negotiations have hung up around lifetime job guarantees for some 190 Guild members.

Negotiations with the union start up again at 5 p.m. today. But even if they're successful, it's hard to envision a Globe that looks anything like the current iteration - the paper, after all, is projected to lose $85 million this year without major cutbacks. And $20 million ain't $85 million.

Particularly sad for this observer to watch, as my father was an editor at the Globe for years.