NY Times' savior: seeks 'philanthropist' image instead of robber baron

Crain's NY: "A telecommunications mogul, Mr. Slim first bought a stake in the company in September. He has said that he is interested in the Times because it’s a “great brand” with a

• bright future as a producer of news,

• if not necessarily as a newspaper.".......

• 18 months ago the NY Times questioned the source of Slim's wealth which now may save them. via Poynter.org/Romenesko

There are many 'philanthropists' these days who rely on that label to cover for something else (such as Bernie Madoff did). It's reported the incentive for a Mexican billionaire to save the NY Times is his own image makeover:

• (Reuters): "Here’s what Slim would get: A burnished reputation. The 68-year-old Slim has been trying to remake his image in recent years from that of a robber baron who cornered the Mexican telecommunications market, shut out competition and got tacit (if not explicit) government support for it."
• (HIS STYLE WOULD FIT IN PERFECTLY WITH MLB AS AN OWNER OF THE RED SOX). sm

• (Reuters, continuing): "The world’s second-richest man, Slim also has been donating millions to charity. Helping a liberal-voiced, family-run newspaper empire in distress — one of the world’s most famous, independent newspapers, we hasten to add — without interfering in its strategic direction or editorial focus is a nice way to get people to respect you.

  Here’s what the Times would get: Time to figure out how to right itself financially. As I wrote in an analysis on Sunday, the Times has a big to-do list, including possibly selling its Red Sox stake, The Boston Globe and pursuing other moves.

  More importantly, making Slim the largest shareholder in the Times and keeping him allied with the Sulzbergers’ interests could inoculate the company against angry shareholders. We’re thinking primarily of Morgan Stanley money manager Hassan Elmasry, and, more recently, hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. Last year, Harbinger got two people elected to the Times board, something that the Times wasn’t too happy about."....

• On the other hand,

  (Reuters)"When his investment in computer retailer CompUSA went bad, he dumped the company into the hands of a restructuring firm. The ruthlessness with which he built his telecom empire in Mexico also has earned him more than a few detractors."...

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