The Press: Thick Paper, Thin Profit

For the second time in its 108 steady years, the New York Times this week made public its annual report. The figures for 1958 confirmed the point made by the report for 1957 (TIME, May 5), i.e., that the Times is willing to make only a thin profit in the interest of producing a news-thick paper. On gross newspaper revenue of $85,576,162 in 1958, the Times netted $166,052—less than one-fifth of 1%. For the handful of public stockholders (some 200), the picture was not quite as grey as that figure indicated. The Spruce Falls Power & Paper Co. Ltd., in which the Times holds a 42% interest, turned a tidy profit of $1,119,307. Preferred shareholders earned an 8% return on their investment—1% better than in 1957—and the Times chalked up its 61st consecutive year in the black.