Over the last several years, we have taken steps to reduce operating costs by reducing staff and employee  benefits and implementing general cost-control measures across the Company, and we plan to continue these cost  management efforts. If we do not achieve expected savings or our operating costs increase as a result of investments  in strategic initiatives, our total operating costs would be greater than anticipated. In addition, if we do not manage  our costs properly, such efforts may affect the quality of our products and our ability to generate future revenues.  Reductions in staff and employee compensation and benefits could also adversely affect our ability to attract and  retain key employees. Significant portions of our expenses are fixed costs that neither increase nor decrease proportionately with  revenues. In addition, our ability to make short-term adjustments to manage our costs or to make changes to our  business strategy may be limited by certain of our collective bargaining agreements. If we are not able to implement  further cost-control efforts or reduce our fixed costs sufficiently in response to a decline in our revenues, this could  adversely affect our results of operations. Our online systems store and process confidential subscriber, employee and other sensitive personal data, and  therefore maintaining our network security is of critical importance. The security of these network and information  systems and other technologies is important to our business activities. We use third-party technology and systems for  a variety of operations, including encryption and authentication technology, employee email, domain name  registration, content delivery to customers, back-office support and other functions. Our systems, and those of third  parties upon which our business relies, may be vulnerable to interruption or damage that can result from natural  disasters, fires, power outages, acts of terrorism or other similar events, or from deliberate attacks such as computer  hacking, computer viruses, worms or other destructive or disruptive software, process breakdowns, denial of service  attacks, malicious social engineering or other malicious activities, or any combination of the foregoing.  Despite the security measures we and our third-party service providers have taken, our computer systems, and  those of our vendors, have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to attack. We have implemented controls and  taken other preventative measures designed to strengthen our systems against attacks, including measures designed  to reduce the impact of a security breach at our third-party vendors. Although the costs of the controls and other  measures we have taken to date have not had a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or  liquidity, there can be no assurance as to the cost of additional controls and measures that we may conclude are  necessary in the future. If we are unable to execute cost-control measures successfully, our total operating costs may be greater than  expected, which would adversely affect our profitability. Security breaches and other network and information systems disruptions could affect our ability to conduct our  business effectively.  There can also be no assurance that the actions, measures and controls we have implemented will be effective  against future attacks or be sufficient to prevent a future security breach or other disruption to our network or  information systems, or those of our third-party providers. Such an event could result in a disruption of our services  or improper disclosure of personal data or confidential information, which could harm our reputation, require us to  expend resources to remedy such a security breach or defend against further attacks, divert management’s attention  and resources or subject us to liability under laws that protect personal data, resulting in increased operating costs or  loss of revenue. Our international operations expose us to risks inherent in foreign operations. We are focused on expanding the international scope of our operations. We face the inherent risks associated  with doing business abroad, including: •  effectively managing and staffing foreign operations, including complying with diverse local labor laws and  regulations; •  navigating local customs and practices; •  responding to government policies that restrict the digital flow of information; •  protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights under varying legal regimes; •  complying with international laws and regulations, including those governing the collection, use, retention,  sharing and security of consumer data; THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY – P. 9