Times They Are A-Changin' at the New York Times

The times they are a-changin’ at the NYT… A year ago, the New York Times Co. viewed itself as “a global media organization dedicated to enhancing society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information,” according to its third-quarter press release.

No more. The Old Gray Lady is fun & games these days. It now calls itself “a trusted source of quality, independent journalism whose mission is to seek the truth and help people understand the world,” says the Q3 2021 release.

“With more than 8 million subscriptions across a diverse array of print and digital products—from news to cooking to games—The Times has evolved from a local and regional news leader into a diversified media company with curious readers, listeners and viewers around the globe.”

The NYTC added 455K net new digital subs during the third quarter. That included 322K subs for News and 135K for Games, Cooking and Wirecutter.

CEO Meredith Kopit Levien plans to test digital products for audio and kids in the coming months.

Can digital comics be far behind?

Telling it like it is… “There are markets we put a lot of money in that didn’t work out,” said Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM, which has just spun off its IT services business.

The new company named Kyndryl, which generated 25 percent of IBM’s $74B revenues last year, began trading on the Big Board on Nov. 4 and opened at $28.50. Kyndryl is running ads on the electronic billboards in Grand Central Terminal boasting that its systems power the five top airlines.

IBM has been in constant shrinkage mode since revenues peaked at $107B in 2011. The company made a big bet on services during the 1990s as a way to boost sales of its mainframes. It eventually lost that bet as clients shifted their computing needs to the clouds run by Microsoft and Amazon.

Wall Street valued Microsoft and IBM at more than $200B ten years ago. Microsoft hit the $2.5T mark this week to pass Apple as the world’s most valuable company. IBM is a mere speck in Microsoft’s rear view window with a market value of $100B.

Krishna, who took over IBM a year ago, promises shareholders that the company will reinvent itself once again. He says “Today’s IBM” will focus on the “two most transformational technologies of our time: hybrid cloud and AI.” Let’s hope IBM gets it right this time.

A person who has her head in the clouds is said to be scatterbrained, absentminded or impractical. For IBM, getting its head in the clouds is a matter of life or death.

Spice marketer McCormick & Co. is first out of the gate to publicize its win of Prince Charles’ Terra Carta Seal for sustainability. Malcolm Swift, president, global flavor solutions, EMEA & chief administrative officer at McCormick, received the award from Charles.

He expressed delight “to be recognized as a global leader for our ongoing sustainability journey,” according to the company’s Nov. 3 press release.

FTI Consulting handles media inquiries about the award earned by the 132-year-old company based in Hunt Valley, MD.

Forty four other companies earned the Prince’s inaugural seal of approval. Who will be next to tout the Terra Carta?