Seems to me that they really want to bolster the Web staff and bring the newspaper into the 21st century. But in this day and age, no one is simply adding staff without making cuts elsewhere. In other words, we’re seeing the Times start to operate like every other newspaper on the planet. But at least in this instance, they’re not just cutting for cutting’s sake. There’s a broader strategy here that actually makes quite a bit of sense.

Sure, maybe they could simply turn to Rev. Moon for more money, but it’s possible the Moonies have decided that they really want to operate a profitable product. My guess is that’s why they brought in Solomon in the first place…to give the paper some credibility, change the culture of the place and improve the product overall.

Bo Hi Pak said early on the paper had lost 250 million. What years did it make this profit to catch up from even from the early years losses? Pak would have been the one I would have suspected to spin the figure the lowest, at least until I saw Robert’s spin above.

Don’t remember the exact date of Pak’s quote in the WP as saying 250 million but it was earlier than 1991 when Moon said himself bragged that he had spent a billion on his effort to move the nation right wing and bring himself face around the world. That was about the time Moon said he had to raise 7 million a month for the WT.

By around 2000 the figures were $1.7 billion in the WP. And as I am sure Robert knows, former WT 20 year reporter, George Archibald put the figure at 3 billion.

No one has ever claimed it has made a dime, ever. Moon certainly brags about how much it has cost him. But when did they even recoup even some of that 250 million Pak mentioned?

Robert, I saw Pruden on C-Span’s Q&A and Brian Lamb asked him about finances at the paper and Pruden started squirming around and let Lamb know real fast he didn’t know a anything about the finances of the paper. So, you know, Robert, and Pruden had no clue? Should we call that “willful” on his part?

Which brings up the next question: Solomon says they “probed deeply into every aspect of our finances.”

Since it is well known, the pool of cash Moon uses to fund his world wide influencing campaign from a pool which includes hundreds of millions, if not billions, made swindling the Japanese, targeting widows.

Read how here: http://tinyurl.com/39ejt

Here’s the totals of claims: http://tinyurl.com/yotod4

The only started taking claims in 1987. The claims are for over 800 million USD and the group that has beaten the Unification Church in court says the figures are a fraction of the damages to the citizens of Japan.

I am sure the paper can come up with some spin about how they have been funded all these years, maybe include it one of those articles telling the right wingers how much they should despise George Soros.

Hey Robert, did you ever finish your discussion with Rose? I laughed my rear off at you dodging all those questions about Moon funding North Korea, given your belief the commies are coming to get you.

here’s the links – I never saw any after this – do you have the links to any more?

http://tinyurl.com/2p9kof

http://tinyurl.com/2r5m8v

http://tinyurl.com/3423g3

Pak would have been the one I would suspect to spin the figure the lowest, at least until I saw Robert’s spin above.

Don’t remember the exact date Pak was quoted in the WP as saying 250 million but it was earlier than 1991 when Moon said he had spent a billion on his effort to move the nation right wing. By 2000 the figures were 1.7 billion in the WP. And as I am sure Robert knows, former WT 20 year reporter put thew figure at 3 billion.

No one has ever claimed it has made a dime, ever. Moon certainly brags about how much it has cost him. But when did they even recoup even that 250 million?

Robert, I saw Pruden on C-Span’s Q&A and Lamb asked him about finaoices at the paper and Pruden started squirning around and let Lamb know q

Hey Robert, did you ever finish your discussion with Rose? I laughed my rear off at you dodging all those questions about Moon funding North Korea given your belief the commies are coming to get you.

here’s the links – I never saw any after this – do you have the links to any more?

http://tinyurl.com/2p9kof

http://tinyurl.com/2r5m8v

http://tinyurl.com/3423g3

so writes the ed-in-chief…Oh man! Where’s the copy desk when you need it?

It has been reported that, over the first 20 years of its existence, The Washington Times lost a cumulative total of $100 million (i.e.,an average $5 million annual loss). But it has to be understood that most of the big losses occurred in the early years of the operation, when the company was purchasing and improving its facilities and equipment — and even, at one point, operating foreign bureaus in London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. Over the past 15 years, the company has drastically reduced costs and thus reduced its losses.

Yes, if market forces were allowed to prevail, it would have shuttered long ago. But since it has the cash to buck market forces, why bother playing this game at all and parrot slash and burn strategies of other newspapers?

It’s never been a great product top-to-bottom, and it’s become even more narrow in the last decade of the Pruden era. But a new beginning with a new editor should mean new initiatives. Bringing Solomon in and tying his hands with layoffs isn’t going to improve its market position in the least.

.