by: Alan D. Mutter | Reflections of a Newsosaur

When the New York Times Co. bought the Boston Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993, many of the nation’s newspaper publishing companies happily would have paid the same price for the same opportunity.

With the Globe now on track to be sold for a tenth (or, perhaps less) of the value it commanded a decade ago, it is safe to assume that no traditional newspaper publisher will be in the scrum of wealthy individuals and private-equity funds said to be bidding for the honor of owning this iconic brand.