The ground breaking article from the NY Times, “Rethinking Addiction’s Roots, and Its Treatment” finally gets it right. After years, if not decades, of blaming the victims of drug addiction, this refreshing and important article makes the bold statement that addiction is disease. By saying addiction is much the same as diabetes or a thyroid condition, new possibilities are opened up for the treatment of addiction. This change in attitude allows medical professionals to develop sound, medically based treatment modalities and just as importantly, opens the door for insurance policies to pay for treatment.

The past history of addiction treatment put a heavy focus on psychiatry and paid little, if any attention to the possibility of the underlying physical or genetic causes of addiction. Even when patients had a long term, multi generational history of addiction in their families, specialists treated this as offhand information and continued to emphasize psychotherapy as the primary method of treatment. “In the past, the specialty was very much targeted toward psychiatrists,” said Nora D. Volkow, the neuroscientist in charge of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “It’s a gap in our training program.” She called the lack of substance-abuse education among general practitioners “a very serious problem.”

As pointed out in the Times article, new treatments are being developed. One very encouraging step is the first accredited residency program in addiction medicine started by 10 prominent medical institutions including St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, the University of Maryland Medical System, the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the University of Minnesota Medical School, the University of Florida College of Medicine, the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Marworth and Boston University Medical Center. Designed for doctors who have completed medical school, they will be able to spend a one year residency studying the relationship between addiction and brain chemistry.

“This is a first step toward bringing recognition, respectability and rigor to addiction medicine,” said David Withers, who oversees the new residency program at the Marworth Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Treatment Center in Waverly, Pa.

The new program will treat patients with addictions to alcohol, drugs, prescription medicines and nicotine. Starting July 1, 2011 with 20 students at the various institutions, the doctors will study brain chemistry and the important role of heredity.

The change in the thinking about addiction has been a gradual process that has taken place over the last two decades. The catalyst was when researchers using high-resonance imaging began to notice actual physical changes occurring in the brains of addicts. Once this was understood, many forward looking professionals began to realize that the treatment of addiction required an ongoing medical program. Much like the way diabetes treatment requires continuing medication and regular medical care, addiction specialists have begun to develop treatment programs for the long term care of the addict. It is now realized that there is more to successfully treating addiction than 28 days in a detox and will power.

One of the most successful treatments for opiate addiction has been long term methadone maintenance. While many of the traditionalists in addiction treatment complain that methadone just replaces one addiction with another, advocates point out that methadone has enabled many of its users to lead productive lives while preventing the use of illegal drugs or the abuse of prescription drugs. Long term methadone treatment has also enabled patients to avoid many of the destructive and often fatal consequences of drug addiction including further exposure to aids and the risk of death due to overdose.

Another promising new treatment for opiate addiction is Buprenorphine which is marketed under the name Suboxone. Buprenorphine is used to ease patients withdrawal symptoms from opiate detoxification. Buprenorphine binds more strongly to receptors in the brain than do other opioids, making it more difficult for opioids (or opiates) to react when buprenorphine is in the system. This makes the drug useful for long term use in the treatment of addiction as an alternative to methadone.

Many other promising new drugs are being developed to treat a range of addictions including opiates, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine and nicotine. As the focus evolves towards a fuller understanding that addiction is a physical disease and not a reflection on the personality of the addict, new hope is to be found among medical professionals and addicts alike. As stated in the NY Times article by Derek Anderson, 53, who credits Suboxone and the medical doctor who diagnosed his addiction with helping him kick his 35-year heroin habit.  “I used to go to detoxes and go back and forth and back and forth,” he said. But the Suboxone “got me to where I don’t have the dependency every day, consuming you, swallowing you like a fish in water. I’m able to work now, I’m able to take care of my daughter, I’m able to pay rent — all the things I couldn’t do when I was using.”

Guest post by Wolff Bachner

Addiction Treatment: A New Way To Look At An Old Problem is a post from: The Inquisitr

Former NY Times columnist, Pulitzer prize winner and former Nixon speechwriter William Safire has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 79.

Safire started his career as a radio and television producer until a stint as a PR executive lead him to greater things. While working as a publicist in 1959 he met Richard Nixon, subsequently joining Nixon’s 1960 Presidential campaign. After Nixon won in 68, Safire was appointed as a speechwriter for both Nixon and VP Spiro Agnew. He is credited with being a force behind some of the more memorable quotes from the administration, including Agnew’s use of the phrase “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Safire joined the New York Times as a political columnist in 1973, and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1978 for his coverage of Bert Lance’s alleged budgetary irregularities.

Staunchly conservative, Safire was none the less held in high regard by both sides of the political spectrum until his retirement in 2005. Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of liberal New York Times stated on the day he retired:

The New York Times without Bill Safire is all but unimaginable, Bill’s provocative and insightful commentary has held our readers captive since he first graced our Op-Ed Page in 1973. Reaching for his column became a critical and enjoyable part of the day for our readers across the country and around the world. Whether you agreed with him or not was never the point, his writing is delightful, informed and engaging.

William Safire is survived by his wife, two children and one grand child.

(img: Wikipedia)

NY Times Columnist William Safire Dead at 79 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google today launched Google Fast Flip, a new reading services that allows users to (as the name suggests) flip through content on various sites without leaving Google itself.

The new service includes content from the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Salon, Fast Company, ProPublica, among others, and is being pitched by Google as “a new reading experience that combines the best elements of print and online articles.”

To Google’s credit Fast Flip only includes content from partnership deals with media outlets, and the search giant is promising to “share the revenue earned from contextually relevant ads.” The problem though lies with what Google Fast Flip does with the content, and what it may mean in the fight between Google and newspaper publishers.

Google Fast Flip displays an ad-less snap shot of each page, which while constrained by size mostly includes the full content from each item. It works to some degree for reading, but at the same time it negates the need to click thru to the outlet hosting the content. Without the clickthru, Google’s argument about how many page views it sends through to publishers is undermined. They are ad sharing, but a single Adsense unit won’t come close to competing with display advertising on the actual source page, and that’s a risk for sites who are offering their content on the service.

To actually affect the bottom line of sites, Fast Flip would need to become popular, but it’s the precedent it sets that will scare newspaper publishers, and rightly so as Google now offers a service that doesn’t deliver traffic back. You can already hear some Google haters preparing to cite the service the next time they go on a Google bash, only this time their arguments might actually make some sense.

Google Fast Flip is just the ammunition newspapers wanted is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times Company will notify federal authorities Monday that its plans to shut down the Boston Globe after negotiations with Unions failed to deliver desired cuts.

According to reports, The Boston Globe will cease publication within weeks, if not sooner.

The New York Times Company (the owner of the Boston Globe) had previously said that The Globe c=would bleed $85 million this year unless a deal was reached with the union to cut costs. The NY Times Company acquired the Boston Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993.

The shutdown has restrictions under law, and the NY Times Company said that they would file at the opening of business Monday, the required 60-day notice of the planned shutdown under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law.

Reports suggest though that the move could be a negotiation tactic, but either way, it’s a serious escalation in negotiations. If the Globe closes, it will be the largest failure of a US newspaper to date.

NY Times Company will file to close the Boston Globe is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times Company has suspended quarterly dividends due to difficult market conditions.

The move followed a cut from 23c a share to 6c a share in November 2008.

NY Times Co Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. said in a statement that

“Today’s decision provides the Company with additional financial flexibility given the current economic environment and the uncertain business outlook. We have taken decisive steps to reduce capital spending, lower operating costs and re-evaluate our assets. Last month we announced a private financing transaction for $250 million in senior unsecured notes and warrants. We also recently announced that we are exploring the possible sale of our ownership interest in New England Sports Ventures, LLC. We expect the suspension of the dividend, coupled with our other actions, will help us decrease debt and improve the liquidity of the Company, a difficult but prudent measure in this operating environment.”

Shares in the company (NYSE:NYT) traded up 1.63% in after marketing trading after being down 5.39% for the day prior to the announcement being made.

The move isn’t surprising, and does reinforce the difficult situation both the Times, and the broader industry is in.

New York Times suspends dividends is a post from: The Inquisitr

The 10% cut totals 22 employees, and come from ad sales, client services, marketing and editorial.

Guides will see a 7.5% cut in page view rates, and a drop in guaranteed base monthly payment from $725 to $675, although the $500 floor rate remains the same.

In a memo sent to guides, the company no surprisingly cited the recession as the driver behind the cuts

As you know, About.com is an important part of an exciting, growing and competitive industry. Among our many assets are some of the best minds in the industry, a strong business model and expert content that helps millions of users manage the challenges of everyday life. Despite the deteriorating economic conditions that exist today, we remain confident about our future and are committed to creating lasting value for our customers, Guides, team members, and The New York Times Company and its shareholders.

In the short term however, we find ourselves in a position where we need to realign the organization to respond to the unprecedented economic turmoil that is affecting organizations large and small across the country and around the world.

Until recently, About.com was one of the few rosy entries in New York Times earning reports, but things started to change late last year along with the rest of the market. Even the Times can’t buck the massive decline in web advertising many are seeing at the moment.

Silicon Alley Insider has the full memos here.

About.com slashes staff, guide pay is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times Company has entered into a private financing agreement with Banco Inbursa, S. A., Institucion de Banca Multiple, Grupo Financiero Inbursa (“Banco Inbursa”) and Inmobiliaria Carso, companies connected to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for $250 million in senior unsecured notes due 2015.

The Times said it would use the new funding to refinance existing debt, including part of the $400 million that was facing repayment in May.

Under the deal, Carlos Slim gets warrants on 15.9 million shares of Times “A” stock, and interest of 14% on the debt. The warrants expire in January 2015.

Slim purchased the 6.9% stake in the company in September 2008.

Breathing space for the embattled gray lady, but it doesn’t address the fundamental financial flaws that continue to see the Times lose money.

Full release here.

New York Times Raises $250 Million from Carlos Slim is a post from: The Inquisitr

How bad was 2008 for the newspaper industry in the United States? E&P calculated the stock price movements, and massacre doesn’t fully describe it:

GateHouse, down 99.55%
McClatchy, down 93.6%
Lee Enterprises, down 97.3%
Journal Register Co., down 99.58%
Media General, down 92.47%

Gannett Co which owns non-newspaper assets as well as newspapers dropped 80% and the New York Times Company was the best performer losing only 59% of its value. Notably the Dow only dropped 36% for the year.

Of those, Gatehouse Media now has a market cap of only $2.3 million, despite publishing hundreds of papers.

The only question now is: how many will be left on the list by the end of 2009.

2008: The Year Newspaper Stocks became worth less than the paper they were once printed on is a post from: The Inquisitr

Washington lobbyist Vicki L. Iseman has sued The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) for $27 million over an article that gave the impression she had an affair with John McCain.

The Times reported in a story in February 2008 that McCain aides once worried McCain’s relationship with Iseman had turned romantic. Iseman represented telcos in front of the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired.

The article said that both McCain and Iseman denied any romantic relationship, but it’s the implication that has Iseman angry.

Iseman said in a statement to the media:

“That The New York Times would make such aggressive and sensational allegations and insinuations in the face of on-the-record denials by Ms. Iseman and Senator McCain only reinforced the message to readers that The New York Times in fact believed that Ms. Iseman and Senator McCain had indeed engaged in an ‘inappropriate relationship,’ a relationship that was romantic, unethical, and a conflict of interest,” the lawsuit says. “Otherwise, reasonable readers would conclude, The New York Times would never have printed the story at all.”

The New York Times said it stood by the story and would vigorously defend itself against the suit. The defamation suit also names the Times’ executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters as defendants.

NY Times sued over McCain Affair Article is a post from: The Inquisitr

GateHouse Media, owner of 125 small local newspapers in Massachusetts, has sued the New York Times Company for linking to articles on Gatehouse web properties.

GateHouse argues that The New York Times Co, through the Boston Globe (Boston.com) violated copyright law by copying headlines and the first sentence from articles in the Newton Tab, Daily News Tribune of Waltham, and other GateHouse papers. GateHouse also claims illegal use of trademarks as Boston.com also named the papers when linking to them.

NY Times Company spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said that the company is simply doing what many other news sites already do – aggregating headlines and snippets of relevant stories published elsewhere on the Web – and that it believed GateHouse’s lawsuit was without merit according to Boston.com.

In case you missed the opening, let me repeat it: the New York Times Company is being sued for linking to another site, and quoting a very small amount of text when doing so, and for naming the site it was linking to.

Are these people completely insane?

The real crux of the matter would appear to be more related to competition: Gatehouse runs sites that they themselves describe as being “hyper-local” and the Boston Globe has recently started launching similar sites; although with the latter the Globe aggregates external content from blogs and other news sources, including competitors. Gatehouse argues that the direct linking to articles on their sites prevents users from hitting the front page, but it presumes, dare I say wrongly that the Globe not linking to content would result in more traffic to their front page, when the real result would be more likely a drop in traffic for the site as a whole, with little discernible difference to traffic to the front page.

In the unlikely event that this action is successful, the entire premise of the link economy could be in danger. It is standard practice now even with media sites that linking out is good, and a wave of new media companies have been built on this premise. Even Google would not be immune, with Google News offering a similar, be it automated version of what The Globe is offering in this instance.

The ultimate irony of course is in the Gatehouse court submission, which is scattered with 2.0 words: the company somehow thinks it’s a serious player in the space, yet at the same time is seeking to sue someone else for actually linking to their content. Dumb has a new name.

Dumb has a new name: GateHouse Media sues the NY Times Company over links is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a balance sheet that says we’re going to follow The Tribune Co into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, The New York Times is attempting to sell off its New York HQ to stay afloat.

According to the NY Times (naturally), the NY Times company has retained Cushman & Wakefield to act as its agent to secure financing, either in the form of a mortgage or a sale-leaseback arrangement.

The New York Times must deliver $400 million to lenders in May of 2009 but only has $46 million cash on hand as at November 8.

The Times Company owns 58 percent of the 52-story, 1.5 million-square-foot tower on Eighth Avenue. The big question though is will the Times be able to find anyone willing to finance the building at the price asked; it may on paper be a reasonable valuation, but there’s not a lot of people around with the capacity to borrow themselves to buy it.

NY Times trying to flog HQ to stay afloat is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times owned Boston Globe has cut 42 jobs, mostly managers in advertising, circulation and marketing reports AP.

The layoffs announced Thursday do not include any newsroom positions. The new cuts follow on from 48 jobs cut earlier this year.

The Chicago based Sun-Times Media Group reported a lost $168.8 million in its third quarter as revenue sank due to the economic crisis, reports Chicago Business.

Ad sales dropped 19% in the quarter. The company plans to cut $45 million to $55 million in expenses over the next nine months to survive in the meantime.

The New York Times must deliver $400 million to lenders in May of 2009 but only has $46 million cash on hand, according to Silicon Alley Insider.

The Times does have access to a $366 million short-term credit line but has not yet drawn this cash down, and may not be able to do so. The company has been shut out of the commercial borrowing market after its credit rating recently dropped to junk status.

Media Briefs: Sun-Times, Boston Globe Cuts, NY Times Cash Crisis is a post from: The Inquisitr

Now it’s official: the death spiral of newspapers is accelerating, with the largest newspaper publisher in the United States reporting an increased decline in advertising revenue.

Gannett, which publishes the USA Today and a range of titles domestically and overseas saw newspaper advertising revenue drop 17.6% in the quarter, inline with declines of 16% at the NY Times company and 19.9% at McClatchy Co. All three results are deeper than the 14% decline reported industry wide for the first half of 2008.

Like its competitors, classified advertising is taking the biggest hit, declining 28.5% for Gannett vs declines in retail ad revenue at 10.1% and national down 7.8%. Real estate classifieds dropped 33.4%, help-wanted was down 36.5%; and automotive slipped 18.7%.

Unlike some of the others who have reported steady or small increases in circulation revenue of the back of increased prices, circulation revenue fell 3.3%.

E&P has more.

More bad news for newspapers: advertising at Gannett down 17.6% is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times released their 3rd quarter results today, adding to the doom and gloom in the newspaper market with declining advertising and debt issues.

The company reported 3rd quarter net income of $6.5 million, compared to $13.4 million for the same period last year.

Advertising declined 16% in the quarter after reporting an 11% fall for the first half of the year. Print advertising took the biggest hit with an 18.3% fall for the quarter, with classified advertising down 28%. Online advertising was up 10.2% off an increase of 16% at about.com, but the online gains were not enough to offset the decline in print, with online advertising making up 12.4% of advertising revenue for the company, but up from 10.6% for the same time last year.

The bright news is that the decline in advertising slowed in September, hitting 14.1% for the month vs 15.9% August and nearly 18% in July.

The NY Times’ exposure to debt may cause serious issues for the company, with Moody’s Investor Service placing the company on review, the first step towards a downgrade of NY Times’ debt status to what the WSJ referred to as “junk territory.” The company confirmed issues with servicing their existing debt of $1.1 billion with only $46 million cash at hand. Henry Blogdet has more here.

NY Times in trouble: advertising down 16%, may struggle to service debt is a post from: The Inquisitr