In the right hands, The Boston Globe could be profitable

The Boston Globereports that its future may lay in the hands of one or more wealthy local businessmen. The Globe, which is owned by the New York Times Co. (NYT), has been rumored to be losing more than $1 million a week, and its parent company has been aggressively pursuing cost cutting measures. The potential sale follows unsuccessful negotiations with the Globe's largest union, which led to the company cutting members' salaries by 23 percent.

Leading contenders to take over the paper are Stephen Taylor, part of the family which sold the Globe to the Times Co. in 1993; Stephen Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team; and Jack Connors, who co-founded advertising firm Hill Holliday, which was based in Boston before being acquired by Interpublic Group (IPG). The newspaper, however, may need more than a boost from local ownership.