We are a leading media and news organization serving our audiences through print, online, mobile and radio technology. Our segments and divisions are:

News Media Group (consisting of The New York Times Media Group, which principally includes The New York Times ("The Times"), NYTimes.com, the International Herald Tribune and WQXR-FM; the New England Media Group, which principally includes The Boston Globe ("The Globe"), Boston.com and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette; and the Regional Media Group, which includes 15 daily newspapers and their related digital operations). The News Media Group generates revenues principally from print, online and radio advertising and through circulation. Other revenues, which make up the remainder of revenues, primarily consist of revenues from wholesale delivery operations, commercial printing, news services/syndication, digital archives, advertising service revenue, rental income and an online subscription database and research service. The News Media Group's main operating costs are employee-related costs and raw materials, primarily newsprint.

About Group(consisting of the Web sites of About.com, ConsumerSearch.com, UCompareHealthCare.com and Calorie-Count.com). The About Group principally generates revenues from cost-per-click advertising (sponsored links for which the About Group is paid when a user clicks on the ad), display advertising that is relevant to its adjacent content, and e-commerce (including sales lead generation). Almost all of its revenues (93% in the first quarter of 2008) are derived from the sale of advertisements (cost-per-click and display advertising). Cost-per-click advertising accounts for 59% of the About Group's total advertising revenues. The About Group's main operating costs are employee-related costs and content and hosting costs.

Joint Ventures Our investments accounted for under the equity method are as follows:

† a 49% interest in Metro Boston LLC, which publishes a free daily newspaper in the Greater Boston area,

† a 49% interest in a Canadian newsprint company, Donohue Malbaie Inc.,

† a 40% interest in a partnership, Madison Paper Industries, operating a supercalendered paper mill in Maine,

† a 25% interest in quadrantONE LLC, a consortium online advertising network that sells bundled premium, targeted display advertising from local newspaper Web sites and other affiliates. Our investment of $1.9 million was made in February 2008, and

† an approximately 17.5% interest in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and adjacent real estate, approximately 80% of the New England Sports Network, a regional cable sports network, and 50% of Roush Fenway Racing, a leading NASCAR team.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Acquisitions

In March 2008, we acquired certain assets of the Winter Haven News Chief ("News Chief"), a regional newspaper in Winter Haven, Fla., for $2.5 million. Also in March 2008, we purchased additional Class A units of BehNeem, LLC ("BehNeem"), increasing our total investment to $4.3 million for a 53% ownership interest. BehNeem licenses the Epsilen Environment, an integrated online course content, portfolio and communications tool for the education community. The operating results of the News Chief are included in the results of the Regional Media Group and the operating results of BehNeem are included in the results of The New York Times Media Group, both of which are part of the News Media Group.

See Note 3 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Impairment of Assets

In the first quarter of 2008, we recorded a non-cash charge of $18.3 million for the write-down of assets for a systems project at the News Media Group. We reduced the scope of a major advertising and circulation project to decrease capital spending, which resulted in the write-down of previously capitalized costs.

Plant Consolidation

In 2006, we announced plans to consolidate the printing operations of a facility we leased in Edison, N.J., into our newer facility in College Point, N.Y. As part of the consolidation, we purchased the Edison facility and then sold it, with two adjacent properties we already owned, to a third party. The purchase and sale of the Edison facility closed in the second quarter of 2007, relieving us of rental terms that were above market as well as certain restoration obligations under the original lease. As a result of the sale, we recognized a pre-tax loss of $68.2 million ($41.3 million after tax) in the second quarter of 2007.

We have substantially completed the consolidation of our two New York area printing plants. The costs to close the Edison facility are estimated to be $90 to $94 million, principally consisting of accelerated depreciation charges ($68.5 million), buyout costs ($16 to $20 million) and plant restoration costs ($5.3 million). The majority of these costs, approximately $86 million (approximately $6 million in the first quarter of 2008), have been recognized as of March 30, 2008.

2008 EXPECTATIONS

Expectations regarding key financial measures for 2008 are in the table below. These expectations have not changed since detailed in our earnings press release for the first quarter of 2008 except for our expectations for depreciation and amortization and the inclusion of our expectations on buyouts.

Item                          2008 Expectations
Depreciation & amortization   $150 to $160 million(1)
Income from joint ventures    $16 to $20 million
Interest expense              $50 to $60 million
Income tax rate               40% to 43%(2)
Capital expenditures          $150 to $165 million(3)
Buyouts                       $30 to $35 million

(2) There are many factors that can result in significant volatility quarter to quarter.

(3) Includes approximately $42 million for the consolidation of our New York area plants and about $22 million for our new headquarters.

In addition, we believe that we can achieve a reduction in costs from our year-end 2007 cash cost base of a total of approximately $230 million in 2008 and 2009, excluding the effects of inflation, buyout costs and one-time costs. About $130 million of these savings are expected in 2008.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS



The following table presents our consolidated financial results.



                                                               For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)                                    March 30, 2008      April 1, 2007       % Change

Revenues
Advertising                                      $        458,339    $       504,915            (9.2 )
Circulation                                               226,629            222,454             1.9
Other                                                      62,887             58,651             7.2
Total revenues                                            747,855            786,020            (4.9 )
Operating costs
Production costs:
Raw materials                                              59,076             74,896           (21.1 )
Wages and benefits                                        169,907            165,560             2.6
Other                                                     111,581            104,569             6.7
Total production costs                                    340,564            345,025            (1.3 )
Selling, general and administrative costs                 340,854            342,061            (0.4 )
Depreciation and amortization                              41,931             44,437            (5.6 )
Total operating costs                                     723,349            731,523            (1.1 )
Impairment of assets                                       18,291                  -             N/A
Operating profit                                            6,215             54,497           (88.6 )
Net loss from joint ventures                               (1,793 )           (2,153 )         (16.7 )
Interest expense, net                                      11,745             11,328             3.7
(Loss)/income from continuing operations
before income taxes and minority interest                  (7,323 )           41,016          *
Income tax (benefit)/expense                               (7,692 )           20,899          *
Minority interest in net (income)/loss of
subsidiaries                                                 (104 )                9          *
Income from continuing operations                             265             20,126           (98.7 )
Discontinued operations, net of income taxes
- Broadcast Media Group                                      (600 )            3,776          *
Net (loss)/income                                $           (335 )  $        23,902          *

 Revenues



Revenues by reportable segment and for the Company as a whole were as follows:



                              For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)      March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change
Revenues:
News Media Group   $        719,685   $       763,477       (5.7 )
About Group                  28,170            22,543       25.0
Total revenues     $        747,855   $       786,020       (4.9 )

News Media Group



Advertising, circulation and other revenues by operating segment of the News
Media Group and for the Group as a whole were as follows:



                                            For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)                    March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change
The New York Times Media Group
Advertising                      $        276,700   $       297,146       (6.9 )
Circulation                               165,785           160,662        3.2
Other                                      43,281            42,076        2.9
Total                            $        485,766   $       499,884       (2.8 )

New England Media Group
Advertising                      $         81,378   $        97,242      (16.3 )
Circulation                                37,675            38,485       (2.1 )
Other                                      12,594             9,393       34.1
Total                            $        131,647   $       145,120       (9.3 )

Regional Media Group
Advertising                      $         74,081   $        89,206      (17.0 )
Circulation                                23,169            23,307       (0.6 )
Other                                       5,022             5,960      (15.7 )
Total                            $        102,272   $       118,473      (13.7 )

Total News Media Group
Advertising                      $        432,159   $       483,594      (10.6 )
Circulation                               226,629           222,454        1.9
Other                                      60,897            57,429        6.0
Total                            $        719,685   $       763,477       (5.7 )

Advertising Revenues

Advertising revenue is primarily determined by the volume, rate and mix of advertisements. Total News Media Group advertising revenues decreased in the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to lower print volume. Print advertising revenues declined 12.8% in the first quarter of 2008, while online advertising revenues increased 12.4% in the same period. The difficult national and local economic conditions have negatively affected national, classified and retail advertising at the News Media Group.

Advertising revenues (print and online) by category for the News Media Group were as follows:

                            For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)    March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change

National         $        216,441   $       224,902       (3.8 )
Retail                     95,427           107,349      (11.1 )
Classified                105,319           136,107      (22.6 )
Other                      14,972            15,236       (1.7 )
Total            $        432,159   $       483,594      (10.6 )

The New York Times Media Group

The New York Times Media Group's advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2008 consisted of approximately 69% from the national category, 18% from the classified category, 12% from the retail category and 1% from other advertising categories. Total advertising revenues declined in the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to lower print advertising offset in part by higher online revenues.

National advertising decreased in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007 mainly because of lower print advertising offset in part by higher online revenues. National print advertising has been negatively affected by the slowdown in the economy. Online national advertising continues to grow as a result of secular shifts to online alternatives.

Classified advertising decreased in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007 due to declines in all three print categories (real estate, help-wanted and automotive). Real estate print advertising continued to experience declines driven by the slowdown in the local and national housing markets. In addition, print classified advertising was negatively affected by secular shifts to online alternatives.

Retail advertising also had declines in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007 because of lower volume in various print advertising categories, which was partially offset by growth in online advertising. Shifts in marketing strategies and budgets of major advertisers have negatively affected retail advertising.

New England Media Group

The New England Media Group's advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2008 consisted of approximately 35% from the classified category, 30% from the national category, 28% from the retail category and 7% from other advertising categories. Total advertising revenues declined in the first quarter of 2008 primarily due to lower print advertising.

Classified advertising declined in all print categories (real estate, help-wanted and automotive) in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007 due to lower print advertising. The majority of the decline was in the real estate category driven by the continued slowdown in the local and national housing markets, which also negatively affected help-wanted advertising. In addition, secular shifts to online advertising contributed to the print advertising declines.

National and retail advertising declined in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007 mainly due to lower volume in various print advertising categories. The difficult economy and challenging market conditions in Boston and the greater New England area were major factors contributing to these declines.

Regional Media Group

The Regional Media Group's advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2008 consisted of approximately 54% from the retail category, 37% from the classified category and 9% from the national and other advertising categories.

Total advertising revenues declined in the first quarter of 2008 due to lower print advertising. There were declines in all print categories primarily driven by the downturn in the Florida and California housing markets. About two-thirds of advertising revenues of the Regional Media Group came from newspapers in Florida and California.

Circulation Revenues

Circulation revenue is based on the number of copies sold and the subscription and newsstand rates charged to customers. Our newspapers have been executing a circulation strategy that rebalances the copy mix away from less profitable circulation. As we execute this shift, we are seeing circulation declines but have realized and believe we will continue to realize significant benefits in reduced costs and improved circulation profitability.

Circulation revenues in the first quarter of 2008 increased 1.9% compared with the first quarter of 2007 mainly because of higher home-delivery and newsstand prices. The Times increased its prices in the third quarter of 2007. The Globe increased its newsstand price in February 2008.

Other Revenues

Other revenues increased in the first quarter of 2008 primarily because of revenues from rental income from the lease of five floors in our new headquarters, and increased commercial printing. The increase was partially offset by the elimination of subscription revenues for TimesSelect, an online product offering that was discontinued in September 2007.

About Group

About Group revenues increased 25.0% primarily due to higher advertising rates and increased volume in cost-per-click advertising, as well as revenues associated with the acquisition of ConsumerSearch, Inc., a leading online aggregator and publisher of consumer product reviews acquired in May 2007.

Operating Costs


Operating costs were as follows:



                                                           For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)                                March 30, 2008      April 1, 2007      % Change
Operating costs
Production costs:
Raw materials                                $         59,076    $        74,896          (21.1 )
Wages and benefits                                    169,907            165,560            2.6
Other                                                 111,581            104,569            6.7
Total production costs                                340,564            345,025           (1.3 )
Selling, general and administrative costs             340,854            342,061           (0.4 )
Depreciation and amortization                          41,931             44,437           (5.6 )
Total operating costs                        $        723,349    $       731,523           (1.1 )

Production Costs

Total production costs decreased 1.3% ($4.5 million) in the first quarter of 2008, mainly due to lower raw materials expense ($15.8 million), primarily newsprint ($15.0 million), offset by increases in compensation-related costs ($2.9 million), rent expense ($2.2 million), content costs primarily at the About Group ($1.3 million) and benefits expense ($1.1 million). Newsprint expense declined 23.4%, with 17.0% of the decrease resulting from lower consumption and 6.4% resulting from lower newsprint prices. Beginning in the second quarter of 2008, we expect year-over-year increased newsprint prices.

Selling, General and Administrative Costs

Total selling, general and administrative costs decreased 0.4% ($1.2 million) in the first quarter of 2008 primarily because of lower benefits expense ($4.6 million), other compensation-related costs ($3.5 million) and outside printing and distribution costs ($3.3 million), which resulted primarily from our strategic focus to manage our costs efficiently. These decreases were mainly offset by higher stock-based compensation expense ($6.0 million) and buyout costs ($3.1 million).

Stock-based compensation expense increased $6.0 million primarily because of a shift in the timing of our annual equity awards. Historically equity awards were made in December of each year. In early 2007, the Board elected to make annual equity awards in February of each year, beginning in February 2008, to better enable it to evaluate performance during the most recently completed fiscal year.

Depreciation and Amortization



Total depreciation and amortization, by reportable segment, Corporate and for
the Company as a whole, was as follows:



                                                 For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)                        March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change
Depreciation and amortization:
News Media Group                      $        36,920   $        39,723       (7.1 )
About Group                                     3,033             3,133       (3.2 )
Corporate                                       1,978             1,581       25.1
Total depreciation and amortization   $        41,931   $        44,437       (5.6 )

In the first quarter of 2008, the News Media Group's depreciation and amortization declined primarily because of lower accelerated depreciation expense for assets at the Edison, N.J., printing facility, which we closed in the first quarter of 2008 ($6.6 million), and lower depreciation expense mainly resulting from assets at the College Point, N.Y., and Edison, N.J., facilities ($1.7 million). These decreases were partially offset by increased depreciation expense for our new headquarters ($6.4 million).

About Group's depreciation and amortization decreased due to assets no longer being amortized in 2007 ($0.9 million), partially offset by increased amortization expense associated with assets acquired as a result of the ConsumerSearch, Inc. acquisition ($0.7 million).

The following table sets forth consolidated operating costs by reportable segment, Corporate and the Company as a whole.

                                   For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)           March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change
Operating costs:
News Media Group        $        688,109   $       703,848       (2.2 )
About Group                       18,649            14,213       31.2
Corporate                         16,591            13,462       23.2
Total operating costs   $        723,349   $       731,523       (1.1 )

News Media Group

In the first quarter of 2008, total operating costs decreased 2.2% ($15.7 million) mainly due to lower raw materials expense ($15.8 million), primarily newsprint ($15.0 million), outside printing and distribution costs ($5.3 million) and depreciation and amortization expense ($2.9 million). These decreases were partially offset by increased buyout costs ($2.7 million), stock-based compensation expense ($2.6 million), foreign currency translation impact ($2.4 million) and professional fees ($2.0 million). The foreign currency translation impact was due to the weakening U.S. dollar compared to the euro and the increase in professional fees was due to revenue-growth initiatives related to our digital operations.

About Group

Total operating costs for the About Group increased 31.2% ($4.4 million) in the first quarter of 2008 primarily because of higher content costs ($1.5 million), compensation-related costs ($1.2 million) and promotions costs ($0.8 million). These increases were primarily due to costs associated with the acquisition of ConsumerSearch, Inc., which was acquired in May 2007, and investments in new revenue initiatives.

Corporate

Total operating costs for Corporate increased 23.2% ($3.1 million) in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period last year primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense ($3.6 million).

Operating Profit


Consolidated operating profit, by reportable segment, Corporate and for the
Company as a whole, were as follows:



                                      For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)             March 30, 2008     April 1, 2007    % Change
Operating profit (loss):
News Media Group           $        13,285   $        59,629      (77.7 )
About Group                          9,521             8,330       14.3
Corporate                          (16,591 )         (13,462 )     23.2
Total operating profit     $         6,215   $        54,497      (88.6 )

The reasons underlying the period-to-period changes in each segment's and Corporate's operating profit (loss) are previously discussed under "Revenues," "Operating Costs," and "Recent Developments - Impairment of Assets."

Non-Operating Items

Joint Ventures

Net loss from joint ventures totaled $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2008 compared with $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. The improvement was mainly due to better performance at a paper mill in which we have an investment.

Interest Expense, Net



"Interest expense, net" in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
was as follows:



                              For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)           March 30, 2008      April 1, 2007
Interest expense        $         12,841    $        18,304
Capitalized interest              (1,056 )           (5,922 )
Interest income                      (40 )           (1,054 )
Interest expense, net   $         11,745    $        11,328

Interest expense, net increased in the first quarter of 2008. We had lower interest expense primarily due to reduced debt, which was more than offset by a decrease in interest income because of lower interest income from our real estate development partner for the construction of our new headquarters.

Income Taxes

Our effective income tax rate was 105.0% in the first quarter of 2008 compared with 51.0% in the first quarter of 2007. The effective income tax rates were affected by a $4.6 million adjustment to reduce our reserve for uncertain tax positions in the first quarter of 2008, and an unfavorable tax adjustment of $4.5 million for a change in New York State tax law (effective January 1, 2007) that required a revaluation of existing deferred tax balances in the first quarter of 2007.

Discontinued Operations

On May 7, 2007, we sold the Broadcast Media Group, which consisted of nine network-affiliated television stations, their related Web sites and digital operating center, for approximately $575 million. In 2007, we recognized a pre-tax gain on the sale of $190.0 million ($94.0 million after tax). In the first quarter of 2008, we recorded a post-closing adjustment reducing the gain by $0.6 million. The results of operations presented as discontinued operations are summarized below.

. . .