The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette Announce Steps to Protect Customer Information

"We remain hopeful that this information will not be misused,"said Boston Globe publisher Richard Gilman. "But we want our customersto know that if any such thing does occur, we will provide them withthe means to correct the problem."

Gilman said affected customers would be offered credit monitoringservices specifically designed to track and identify unusual activityand notify the customer. In addition, subscribers who take advantageof the service will have free access to their credit report so thatthey can personally monitor their accounts.

The services will be provided by a third-party vendor and the fullcost of the service for subscribers who enroll will be borne by NewEngland Media Group for the first twelve months.

Both newspapers disclosed yesterday that subscriber data had beenmistakenly distributed with bundles of the Sunday Telegram afterrouting slips for those bundles had been printed on previously-usedcomputer paper containing the information.

The Telegram & Gazette immediately discontinued the re-use ofpaper at its facilities and made changes to its computer systems torestrict the ability to print such data.

The newspapers said the number of affected customers could be asmany as 202,000, about 40,000 fewer than their original estimates onTuesday.

In other steps, the newspapers:

-- Provided online web access enabling customers to quickly determine whether their financial information was among the material released. That site can be access at www.bostonglobe.com/cclookup.

-- Added additional customer service representatives to reduce long waiting times at a company hotline (1-888-665-2644) established to assist subscribers. The increased staffing, along with the new website, was expected to significantly ease backups on that line.

-- Supplied the four major credit card companies involved with the names and account numbers of affected customers. The notification triggers a higher scrutiny of these accounts to detect fraudulent transactions.

-- Began mailing notices of the breach to affected customers and informing them of plans to provide credit protection services.

-- Initiated a systematic review of all procedures at both newspapers regarding the handling of confidential information to insure that the proper safeguards are in place.

"At this point, we've not had a single report of unauthorized useof information belonging to our customers," said Gilman. "We now needto assure all of our customers that we have comprehensive controls inplace so that this cannot happen again and we're taking the necessarysteps to achieve that. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenienceand the concerns that this has caused."

The New England Media Group is part of The New York Times Company(NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2004 revenues of $3.3billion. It includes The New York Times, the International HeraldTribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eightnetwork-affiliated television stations, two New York City radiostations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.comand About.com. For the fifth consecutive year, the Company ranked No.1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's 2005 list of America's MostAdmired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society bycreating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, informationand entertainment.