Leaders, readers see benefits in end to Globe saga

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

News that The New York Times Co. has called off a sale of The Boston Globe was greeted with relief by some in Boston yesterday, as it ended months of speculation and uncertainty about the newspaper's future.

Paul S. Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, New England's biggest public charity, called the decision "unqualified good news for the city of Boston and the whole region."

"I'm very excited about it," Grogan said. "The Globe is an enormously significant asset to this community and it was unthinkable for a lot of us to imagine it disappearing or getting so weak that it couldn't perform its civic function."

The Globe is New England's largest newspaper and the 14th biggest in the US, but like many papers nationwide, it has suffered a decline in revenues as the economy faltered and more readers turn to the Internet for news. In April, The New York Times Co. threatened to close the Globe unless employee unions agreed to $20 million in concessions. After winning concessions, the Times Co. solicited bids to sell the paper, and received two. News of a potential sale had raised concerns that a new owner would make more staff cuts, affecting the newspaper's ability to cover issues in depth.

"Newspapers have been through hell and back in the last couple of years," said Patrick Moscaritolo, chief executive at the Boston Convention and Visitors' Bureau. "A sale would probably only mean a more hellish journey for the paper." Moscaritolo, who is a Boston native, called the Globe "a big part of growing up here and a big part of life."

At South Station yesterday, Stephen Vey of Hanson said he was glad the Globe wasn't sold to a company without publishing experience.

"I'm glad it's a newspaper [company] owning a newspaper," said Vey, 50, as he bought a newsstand copy.

Mike Craine, 46, radiology engineer at Children's Hospital, said it does not matter who owns the Globe, as long as the city continues to have two daily papers.

"I think this is a city big enough for two newspapers," he said.