NYT owner sees end of print edition

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- New York Times owner, chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger says he doesn't know and doesn't care whether he'll still be printing the paper in five years.

Sulzberger told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz the time will come when the company decides to stop printing The New York Times.

"I really don't know whether we'll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don't care either," he said.

The newspaper's profits have been declining for four years, Haaretz reported, and the company last week acknowledged taking a $570 million loss because of write-offs and losses at the Boston Globe, which it owns.

Sulzberger said "we live in the Internet world," and distributing the Times online offers many cost-saving opportunities.

"These costs aren't anywhere near what print costs," he said. "The last time we made a major investment in print, it cost no less than $1 billion. Site development costs don't grow to that magnitude."

The New York Times recently merged its print and online news desks.