Interpreting The New York Times Company’s Financial Statements The 2008 annual report of The New York Times Company includes the following note:

6. Inventories Inventories as shown in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets were as follows:

December 28, December 30,

(In thousands) 2008 2007 Newsprint and magazine paper $19,565 $21,929 Other inventory 5,265 4,966 Total $24,830 $26,895 Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or current market value. Cost was determined utilizing the LIFO method for 71% of inventory in 2008 and 70% of inventory in 2007. The excess of replacement or current cost over stated LIFO value was approximately $10 million as of December 28, 2008 and $5 million as of December 30, 2007.

Required 1. What types of inventory costs does The New York Times Company carry? What about newspapers? Are newspapers considered inventory?

2. Why would the company choose more than one method to value its inventory?

AppendixLO1