R.I.P. NEWSPAPERS: Are newspapers the new horse and buggy? Will newspaper companies find their place in the growing digital world before it's too late?

As The New York Times struggles to stay afloat, billionaire Carlos Slim doubles his shares in the company.

The Internet is taking over the world. As a result, print newspapers are dying. The world of news is changing faster than most newspaper companies can keep up to meet new consumer needs. Much like the old horse and buggy transportation method, people no longer have use for print news as the digital age takes over.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Journalists are offered buyouts and getting laid off as newspapers try to hang on as long as they can. With white knuckles, they hold on as tight as they can, trying to stay afloat as readership and subscriptions plummet.

This adversity isn't limited to small, low budget newspapers; "big name" papers, like The New York Times and LA Times, are suffering big time as the struggle to grow with the digital evolution continues.

Light a prayer candle for the future of newspapers--

At the end of last year, The New York Times was forced to eliminate much of their staff. After failed apps, including NYT Opinon, and a decrease in print advertisers, the newspaper is having a difficult time coping with the digital age. They are now working on apps NYT Now and NYT Cooking, but neither are where they would like them to be, according to NY Times.

"They are all experiments, which we are determined to treat as such: to learn, pivot and, where necessary, make prompt decisions about them," a NY Times announcement said. "We believe that this process of exploration and experimentation is essential to future growth at The New York Times and we will continue to support and fund it."

However, success with the exploration and experimentation did not come in time for over 100 of the newspapers' employees. The newspaper accepted buyout applications from 57 members of the Newspaper Guild of New York and nearly 30 nonunion employees. Another 21 guild-represented employees were laid off.

"These are very difficult days as we are losing some valued colleagues and friends," Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., The Times' publisher, said in a statement for NY Times. "But these and other staff reductions throughout the organization are necessary as we confront the realities of a radically changing industry."

According to Sulzberger and Mark Thompson, NY Times' chief executive the job cuts were "necessary to control our costs and to allow us to continue to invest in the digital future of The New York Times."

Other newspapers have also resorted to cutting staff; "The Wall Street Journal cut dozens of jobs this summer, USA Today eliminated 70 positions in September, and Freedom Communications carried out layoffs in January at two smaller local newspapers in California, The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise of Riverside," according to The NY Times.

As many newspapers struggle to stay in business, some investors are taking advantage of the current low.

Billionaire Carlos Slim is now the largest investor in the New York Times Co. after doubling his shares during the paper's recent low-point.

Previously, Slim loaned the newspaper $250 million to help them get through a financial crisis, according to Bloomberg. This gave him a greater potential profit. Slim now has a total of 27.8 million shares in the company.

Although many are seeing his investment as confidence in The New York Times' future. A complete takeover, even with a bigger stake in the company, would still be difficult for Slim, they say. According to Bloomberg, the controlling owners hold voting shares that give them a nice position on the board.

While Slim's stake allows him to vote for Class A directors, the owning family's Class B shares elect two-thirds of the board.

There's no time like the present when it comes to taking care of your health!

All of this begs the question, why did Slim purchase so many shares? Does he really care about the newspapers future? All these layoffs do not personally hurt him. If the company laid off 100 more people right now, he would still come up. So maybe this billionaire is looking to cash out as the ship sinks?

So far, Slim has collected about $2.9 million in dividend payments since 2013. If he holds on to all of his current shares, he will collect $1.1 million in dividend payments each quarter.

Newspaper Death Watch's current list of North American metro dailies that have closed since the site was created in March, 2007:

Tucson Citizen

Rocky Mountain News

Baltimore Examiner

Kentucky Post

Cincinnati Post

King County Journal

Union City Register-Tribune

Halifax Daily News

Albuquerque Tribune

South Idaho Press

San Juan Star

Honolulu Advertise

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