Davos

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Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of the New York Times, has taken some flack for sounding a bit glum about the prospects for print journalism at the World Economic Conference, held last month in Davos.

On Feb. 8, the newspaper Ha'aretz quoted Mr. Sulzberger thusly, responding to a question about whether the Times will still be printed on paper in five years:

"I really don't know whether we'll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don't care either."

On Wednesday, in a speech to Times employees, Mr. Sulzberger plans to clarify the message attributed to him in Ha'aretz. The Times supplied the Observer with a portion of his text in advance:

"We are continuing to invest in our newspapers, for we believe that they will be around for a very long time. This point of view is not about nostalgia or a love of newsprint. Instead, it is rooted in fundamental business realities: Our powerful and trusted print brands continue to draw educated and affluent audiences.

"Traditional print newspaper audiences are still significantly larger than their Web counterparts. Print continues to command high levels of reader engagement. And, of course, we still make most of our money from print advertising and circulation revenue. And yes, I remember what I said here last year and what I was supposed to have said last month at Davos about not having a printed product in five years time.

"So let me clear the air on this issue. It is my heartfelt view that newspapers will be around--in print--for a long time. But I also believe that we must be prepared for that judgment to be wrong. My five-year timeframe is about being ready to support our news, advertising and other critical operations on digital revenue alone ...whenever that time comes."

--Michael Calderone

On Jan.  read more »

The Lower East Side blog drinking scene claimed its first victim when DealBreaker's John Carney was run down in the wee hours of January 14. A guide to the dangerously thirsty bloggy zone of Hell Square. The Transom goes to Sundance. (As Brad Pitt.)

Jared Paul Stern: Free at last.

It's Davos, baby! A thorough guide to this week's Swiss new media/old royalty confab. As Time slashes forward, its editor tries and fails to poach big names. Who's next on NYT video obits? Alexis Swerdloff goes home again--to Brooklyn.

For media figures who have previously made the climb to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerla  read more »

A tidbit from the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative at the Time Warner Center today: Laura Bush will participate in September's second Davos-on-Hudson.

Murdoch will be there too, of course. And the main underwriter, again, is Tom Golisano, incongruously seated front and center between his wife and Democratic partisan warrior John Podesta.

Greg Sargent has another building block for my grand unified Clinton Murdoch theory:

Rupert's "greatly expanding his involvement" with the Clinton Global Initiative, Bill's Davos-on-Hudson. This is usually code for "buckets of money," though perhaps it also means more Rupert face-time.

So the media mogul must have enjoyed himself last year, though he seemed a bit testy during his appearance on a Clinton-moderated panel.

On Jan. 26, at the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland, New York Times publisher Arthur O.  read more »

On Jan. 26, at the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland, New York Times publisher Arthur O.  read more »

Andrew Kozinn, the owner of Saint Laurie, the men's tailor and clothier at 51st and Park Avenue, sou  read more »