United States
Mogul's NYT investment raises concernPosted Feb 15 2009
Mexican mogul Carlos Slim's recent investment in The New York Times has raised questions about his impact on the news media, the Miami Herald reported Feb 8.
According Gerardo Reyes, a Nuevo Herald reporter writing for the Miami Herald, Slim—the second-richest man in the world—does not own a significant share in any of Mexico's media outlets. But journalists and analysts agree his power in the Mexican media is as significant as that of editors and publishers due to his communications emporium, Telmex and the Carso Group, which are among the major advertisers in both print and broadcast media in Mexico.
In September, Slim acquired a 6.9 percent share of The New York Times, and last month agreed to lend the publication $250 million at a 14 percent rate of interest, a debt that could translate into shares — and already has raised some concerns.
Edward Wasserman, Knight professor of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University, wrote recently that Slim's investment represents a challenge for the principles of a great newspaper that has long pushed for transparent government and fair competition.
The Herald quoted Wasserman as saying, “Slim is a predatory capitalist that built his $67 billion empire through political connections, the astute and irresponsible use of the power of monopolies that means charging high, delivering low and destroying real and potential competitors.”
Andres Martinez, a former editorial writer at The New York Times and a Mexican-American, recently wrote that he has no doubt that Slim's investment will be kept in mind during the editorial process at the Times, “even if it is never mentioned.”
Slim insists that he is not interested in shaping Times editorial policy, just in making money.
More information
- The Miami Herald