Good day and welcome to The New York Times Company second quarter 2010 earnings conference call. Today's call is being recorded. A question-and-answer session will follow today's presentation. (Operator Instructions). For opening remarks and introductions, I'd like to turn the conference over to your host, Ms. Paula Schwartz, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma’am.

Thank you, Jason, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2010 earnings conference call. We have several members of our senior management team here to discuss our results with you, including Janet Robinson, President and CEO; Jim Follo, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Martin Nisenholtz, Senior Vice President, Digital Operations; Denise Warren, Senior Vice President and Chief Advertising Officer, The New York Times Media Group and General Manager NYTimes.com; and Roland Caputo, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The New York Times Media Group. All comparisons on this call will be for the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2009 unless otherwise stated. Our discussion will include forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ from those predicted. Some of the factors that may cause them to differ are included in our 2009 10-K. Our presentation will also include non-GAAP financial measures and we have provided reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures in our earnings press release, which is available on our corporate website at www.nytco.com. And, with that, I’ll turn it over to Janet.

Thank you, Paula, and good morning, everyone. We were very pleased to report persistent strength in our operating performance for the second quarter with June wrapping up on especially solid footings. We saw further positive trending in both print and digital advertising revenues and ended the quarter roughly flat in overall advertising revenue versus the second quarter of 2009. While we know our work is not done, let us reflect for just one moment what a different a year has made. The key elements that converge to deliver this quarter’s strength are the recovering advertising market, the impact of having taken cost out of the business and our consistent moves into digital platforms. In the second quarter, while we experienced month to month volatility, we started firming in the rate of advertiser spending across our newspapers, websites and other platforms. The company’s declining operating expenses also contributed to the growth in our operating profit. Some of the actions that supported our successful effort were managing costs even as we invest in new products, expanding our digital offerings as we head toward a launch of NYTimes.com pay model and step-up our mobile efforts including our recently released iPad and New York Times Scoop ads, leveraging our brand promise of high-quality journalism that engages audiences across multiple platforms and realigning our asset portfolio to support our core operations. We achieved this strong growth in our operating profit in the second quarter, which excluding depreciation, amortization and severance and a special item in 2009, increased 39% to $93 million from $66 million in the second quarter of 2009. On a GAAP basis, we recorded operating profit from continuing operations of $61 million, more than doubling our operating profit of $23 million from the same period of 2009. Diluted earnings per share from continuing…

Thanks Janet. We are maintaining our focus on expense control. Operating cost declined 4% in the second quarter, driven by a decline in newsprint expense in various other expenses. Getting to the special items, our second quarter earnings were favorably affected by the $0.03 instrument gain on a sale of a portion of the company’s interest in NESV. Earnings per share in the second quarter of 2009 ended favorably effected by a $0.26 via a tax benefit related to a change in estimate for income taxes in the first half of 2009 and unfavorably affected by $0.04 or premium on the redemption of notes and by $0.02 charge for pension withdrawal liability under a multi-employer plan related to the closure of city and suburban as well as a curtailment gain – a curtailment charge resulting from the freezing benefits under our company sponsored pension plan. Severance costs were 16% lower at $1.4 million compared to $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2009. Depreciation and amortization decreased to $30 million from $34 million, primarily because of the accelerated depreciation expense recognized in the second quarter 2009 for assets at the Billerica printing facility. For the year, we expect depreciation and amortization to be between $120 million and $125 million. Newsprint expenses declined 15% in the second quarter, of which 8% was attributable to lower consumption and 7% to lower pricing. Newsprint prices rose in the second quarter, but we’re still lower in the same period last year. Newsprint prices have increased as the year progressed, such that, we believe our newsprint price variance will become unfavorable on a year-over-year basis beginning in the third quarter. Accordingly, we expect that high-end newsprint prices will negatively effect operating expenses by approximately $25 million for the second half of 2010, exclusive of the…

Thank you, sir. Question-and-Answer session will be conducted electronically. (Operator Instructions). And we’ll take our first question from Alexia Quadrani from JPMorgan. Alexia Quadrani – JPMorgan: Thank you. Just a couple of questions. You mentioned that Q3 is trending better than Q2 in terms of advertising revenues. Could you specifically say if July is turning similar to June? And then, my second question is on the display advertising environment, Yahoo! had mentioned a falloff in display advertising in the back half of June, did you see anything similar to that in the back half of June?

So Alexia, our current state of the market for Q3, taking into account the limited visibility which still characterizes, the ad market shows that the vast majority of are largest categories are either showing stable growth trends or improved growth trends over Q2. There’s only a handful of category that we see more difficult trends versus Q2 and those are primarily due to non-repeating comps in those categories. Alexia Quadrani – JPMorgan: And on the display side?

In the context of Yahoo!, we did not see that kind of significant decline in June in the – across the company in the Internet businesses in this way. Alexia Quadrani – JPMorgan: Okay. And then just a follow-up question I think on the cost guidance which Jim you went through a bit in the call and then in the release, were you expecting low to mid single digit increases in cost in the third quarter, but then flat in Q4? I guess could you give us a bit more detail of why this is why it’s really sort of a Q3 blip? I know your comps are probably – I know newsprint coming up significantly is part of it. But, I guess, my bigger question is, you’ve mentioned in the past trying to say keep cost in mind with revenues if Q3’s kind of blip. Will you think you’ll – you think that’s still sort of your guidance in Q4 and in 2011?

Yes, well let me say that our statement which is keeping costs in line with revenues is really – is not necessarily quarter-to-quarter, there will certainly be blips in quarters. But third quarter clearly will be a blip, given that fourth quarter we do expect revenues, cost to be relatively flat. The way we book some of our variable compensation does create some real volatility from quarter-to-quarter, so I think we’ll see some variable compensation increase meaningfully in the third quarter, but some of that reverses itself in the fourth quarter. Newsprint prices, I said, I suggested will be up about $25 million in the second half of the year, that’s pretty evenly split between those two quarters. We had a couple of things last year in the third quarter, which benefiters on the cost side one time we had a legal settlement, where we adjusted a legal reserve in the third quarter, that contributed $3 million of negative comps year-over-year. Some of the meter model spending is also going to impact both the third and the fourth quarter, but we’ll see those pretty equally. So it is a bunch of things. I do think third quarter is bit of an aberration. I think the fourth quarter should prove that out. Alexia Quadrani – JPMorgan: Thank you.

Thank you. (Operator Instructions). And we’ll move on to our next question from Craig Huber from Access 342. Craig Huber – Access 342: Yes, good morning. I have a similar question on your cost discussion here for the third and fourth quarter. Can you give us a better sense of how much you have cost associated with the online payroll here is going to hit third and fourth quarter? Are you talking maybe roughly 5%, $1 million per quarter?

A little higher than that, but I’d rather not get precise. Craig Huber – Access 342: Okay. And then on the variable cost side for the third quarter, how much should investors expect of that to be up versus the second quarter? And I think you should it would tail back down in the fourth quarter. Will the fourth quarter, are you envisioning turning back down to roughly the second quarter level?

Well, I think what we suggested in the press release that we thought fourth quarter cost cash expenses would be flattish, despite the fact that we’re expecting in newsprint prices to probably contribute at least, say $12 million or so of increased costs in the quarter. Craig Huber – Access 342: (Inaudible) about the variable, the variable compensation costs, in the third quarter you said it would spike in the third quarter, but it would come back down in the fourth. Will the fourth quarter level be somewhat similar to the second quarter?

Essentially. I think that’s essentially right. That’s correct. Craig Huber – Access 342: Okay, then, while I have you here for a tax rate question, I think you adjusted the so-called one-time items in the first half of the year your tax rate was roughly 43%, what should we expect in the back half of the year for tax rate?

We typically guided somewhere around that for is kind of a full-year rate. Rates can be tend to be lumpy, given the accounting rules of when you adjust in and out some certain reserves, but I would say generally that is a good rate to use. Craig Huber – Access 342: And then, Janet, you’ve said in the past, I believe, your advertising pricing at your New York Times flagship paper is flat maybe up 1%. Could you confirm that here for the second quarter if you would? And then, also can you talk about the Wall Street Journal cutting ad rates in certain categories by 85% to 90%, can you talk about how that may or may not be hurting your numbers. I think your flagship paper ad revenues are up 1%, it certainly looks like it’s not hurting you guys much at all here.

We can confirm. Denise, you may want to jump in here in regard to the Times. We can confirm that the yield continues to be strong and up 1%. It is primarily due to mix in business. A lot of the high rate lines needles to say coming from corporate luxury, financial services. Denise, you want to add anything?

No, I think that’s okay.

And in regard to the journal, as I think we’ve said often that they are certainly pursuing their strategy which includes discounting and deep discounting and pre-pages, but we have not seen any impact in regard to advertising schedules and we have not seen any measurable impact in regard to circulation impact as well. So they are certainly entitled to pursue their strategy, but we are focused very, very much on competing the way we always have, managing our business, putting very successful, creative, innovative ad programs across platforms together, selling our superior demographics and really making sure that people understand how we differentiate across all of the competitive set, certainly not just the journal. Craig Huber – Access 342: Thank you.

You’re welcome.

Thank you, sir. We’ll move on to our next question from Edward Atorino from Benchmark Company. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: That was sort of answered on the cost side. Janet, this may sound like sort of a loaded question, looking at the Wall Street Journal product, was that what you sort of expected it to be, or were you looking for something “better”?

I don’t think we had any expectations in regard to another media entities product development. We have expectations in regard to our own and they’re very, very high. But I think that anyone can look at the section and make their own judgment. And certainly talk to the people with the journal in regard to their strategy and how they’re pursuing it and what success they maybe having in regard to their section development. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: Is there much difference in circulation trends between the – so the New York market and rest of the country?

Yes, there’s a bit of a difference, but that is a trend that we had seen earlier and as continued. And there’s been no – really, no discernable change at all in that trend. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: It’s better outside the country. Sorry, outside of the city.

Folks that are outside New York.

And, we of course, have as you well know had expanded to the national expansion which continues to reap benefits in regard to the availability of the product in a variety of areas throughout the country. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: And are you hitting any markets this year?

We’ll be adding a few. We’ve got a some local initiatives from San Francisco and Chicago as you know and we’re looking to target a few more markets to rollout that local initiative. In addition, we’re going to begin printing the Times at our Houma site and that’s going to expand distribution in that area.

And that’s Houma, Louisiana as I’m sure you know it.

And that also is a two fold benefit. We’ll also get distribution savings from that maneuver. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: Magazines, are you content with the magazine group, any more special products coming up, the T Group?

We’re seeing some very good performance in regard to our magazine. And as I noted earlier with Sally Singer coming on board, we expect that she will add a great deal of her expertise to the further development of a very successful T Franchise.

Yes, the performance of T has been very nice. We’ve seen an improved performance, it’s up for the year, and the fall issue which we just closed it, it’s also up. So we’re very – we’re very pleased with the performance of that franchise as well as the luxury business online is showing dramatic growth as Janet had mentioned in her script. Edward Atorino – Benchmark: Thank you very much.

You’re welcome.

Thank you. And I’m showing no more questions at this time. I’ll go ahead and turn the call back over to Paula Schwartz for any closing or additional remarks.

Thank you, Jason. If you have any additional questions, please give us a call. Thanks again, bye-bye.

Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation.