The New York Times and Carlos Slim

In 2007, a New York Times editorial writer - Eduardo Porter - accused Mexico's richest man Carlos Slim of being a "robber baron." The charge is not entirely without merit. Mr. Slim - who's fortune is estimated as near $44 billion - has made is money through the monopolization of Mexico's telecom industry after he bought the state telephone company from the government in 1990.

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Critics charge that tycoon Slim was able to buy the firm due to his connections, Slim retorts that his payment of $1.76 billion was above market price. True, but it is also true that since then Slim has cornered the Mexican telecome industry and has gone after regulations whenever they seek to investigate his company for anti-competitive actions. Mexico's phone industry has one of the highest rates in the world, Slim's company controls 90% of the domestic land-line industry and 70% of the cell phone market.

Slim's enterprises exceed that of telecom. He always manages several retailing and construction companies. And recently he had ventured into media. That is where the New York Times comes in. The Times - like most newspapers - has been having a hard time in recent years. Subscriptions and advertisers are down and the company is in desperate need for credit.

Slim initially bought 6.9% of the company, but since then the Times has returned cap-in-hand asking for more funds from the multi-billionaire. Recently, Carlos Slim loaned the Times $250 so that the paper could pay off an up-coming load from another investor. The loan came with a guarantee of a 14% interest pay back - the current leanding rate is 3% - shares that will increase Slim's holding to 17%; albeit he still won't have a seat at the company board.

The fact that the Times had to offer Slim 14% interest is a reflection of how desperate it is for credit. But after calling him a "robber baron," how will the paper treat its new saving-ass investor?

That answer came in a front-page article in today's Times. Although offering up the criticism made against Slim by many Mexicans, the paper has veru unsubtle in its efforts to write a laudatory profile of Slim. It touched lightly on his efforts to maintain his monopoly over many Mexican sectors of business, and in presenting criticism it was obvious that the Times was simply to cover itself from the accusation that it is now in hawk to Slim.

The final paragraph said it all: "'We journalists cover so many bad guys here in Mexico, so many big egos, that Slim, despite all his faults, doesn't appear all that bad,' said Mr. Riva Palacio, the Mexico City journalist."