The New York Times Company Foundation Announces Soma Golden Behr to Di

    Business Editors

    NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2005--The New York Times Company Foundation today announced that Soma Golden Behr, a senior editor of The New York Times since 1993, will become the next director of The New York Times College Scholarship Program as of July 1. The program gives four-year scholarships, mentoring and summer jobs each year to 20 outstanding students from families in distress.
    Ms. Behr will succeed Arthur Gelb, long-time Times editor, author and former president of the New York Times Company Foundation. Mr. Gelb, who has directed the College Scholarship Program since 2000, will remain as a consultant to the program until the end of the year.
    The College Scholarship Program began in 1999 with funds from The New York Times Company Foundation. Since then, the program has grown to include contributions from New York Times readers, both directly to current students and to an endowment that provides permanent support for additional scholars.
    "We count ourselves fortunate that Soma has chosen to make this program the next chapter in her sterling career at The Times," said Jack Rosenthal, president of the Foundation, which administers the scholarship program. "As an editor, writer and student of economics, she has brought deep understanding of national issues like poverty, race and class to The Times for more than 30 years. We are eager now to see her give the benefit of that insight and experience to the Times Scholars."
    "We're also pleased that Arthur Gelb has agreed to remain as a consultant, assuring a smooth transition. He has touched the lives of all 137 Times Scholars, 74 of them in college now. Managing the wrenching process of picking 20 fellows a year from some 1,200 applications is challenging. He also has worked tirelessly to find the Scholars summer jobs and counsel them through college adjustment, fiscal difficulties and family crises. He has earned our admiring appreciation."
    Since 1993, Soma Golden Behr, 65, has been an assistant managing editor, helping to direct the daily news report. She previously served as national editor, overseeing bureaus around the country, as editor of the Sunday business section and as a Times editorial writer and economic affairs reporter.
    Ms. Behr received a B.A. in economics from Radcliffe College and an M.S. from the Columbia School of Journalism. Before joining The Times, Ms. Behr worked for 11 years at Business Week.
    Mr. Gelb, 81, retired as managing editor of The New York Times in 1990. Then, for a decade as president of The Times Company Foundation, he played an instrumental role in many civic, educational and cultural projects. He is working on several new projects. He and his wife Barbara, the authors of the authoritative biography "O'Neill," are completing a collaboration with Ric Burns for WGBH on the life of Eugene O'Neill. His book "City Room" was recently published in paperback and is in part an inspiration for a new documentary on which he will collaborate with Mr. Burns.
    The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2004 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eight network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. For the fifth consecutive year, the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's 2005 list of America's Most Admired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

    This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com

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CONTACT: The New York Times Company Toby Usnik, 212-556-4425 usnikt@nytimes.com

KEYWORD: NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PUBLISHING MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: The New York Times Company

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