Union members at The Boston Globe, one of America's leading newspapers, threatened with closure in the current media crisis, have reached a deal with management to keep the title alive.

The Boston Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Company has lost 30 percent of its advertising income in the first months of 2009 and was facing collapse.

Now an agreement with The Newspaper Guild-CWA, an IFJ affiliate, has given the paper a lifeline and saved hundreds of jobs.

According to reports, the agreement includes the end of lifetime job guarantees, steep pay cuts and the phasing out of the company's contributions to retirement plans for employees. This package is the latest effort to save the paper after rounds of layoffs, offices and sections closures to cut operating costs and reduce job losses.

"This agreement is painful because it involves tremendous sacrifice on the part of journalists and other staff," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "But, if it gives The Boston Globe an opportunity to recover from this immediate crisis and secures its future, then it will have been a price worth paying."

The IFJ says that unions like The Newspaper Guild are determined to avoid the consequences of panic-stricken measures which are being imposed by media employers across the Unites States of America and parts of Europe.

"We congratulate union members at The Boston Globe and The Guild for their determination to keep this leading light of American press alive," added White.

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 2 235 2207       

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide