Today is showdown day! In one corner: the Boston Globe, a storied failing newspaper. In the other corner: the NYT Co., a storied failing newspaper company. Neither one will give in until they're both dead.

The NYT Co. extracted many millions in concessions from all the Globe's workers—except those pesky journalists, who have been doing fancy book readin' about labor and rights and whatnot. Today, the newsroom union votes on a new contract that would cut their pay about 10%, end company retirement contributions, and a few other things. The NYT Co. says if they don't approve it, they'll cut pay by 23%. Still, they fight!

"You learn a lot about people and organizations from how they behave in a highly challenging situation," [the Guild president] wrote. "And what we have learned about New York Times Co. management — and its unwillingness to share the pain of overcoming this crisis — is terribly disappointing."

That's true! The NYT Co. will protect the New York Times more than the Boston Globe. A fact that's not all that objectionable when you think about it. The Globe is bleeding money, though, and the company insists that shutting it down is a real option if this contract doesn't pass.

So both the NYT Co. and the Boston Globe are screwed but the Boston Globe is screwed more and will surely die first, and the more they fight the more they will sink themselves into the muck of newspaper doom. Sucks.
[NYT, NYP. Pic: AP]