What’s Warren Buffett doing with a US$350 million (A$496 million) investment in the New York Times. Indeed, is it actually Buffett driving the deal?

Famously, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman – he handed over the chief executive role at the beginning of last month – got out of newspapers in 2020, selling those they didn’t already own to Lee Enterprises.

Buffett’s renewal of interest comes as Lee has been getting out, selling four mastheads including the Daily Journal in June 2023, and then the business itself to David Hoffmann.

The clever, complicated Hoffmann deal comes as the Florida billionaire is building a portfolio of newspapers, not to mention bidding for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette… oh, and the city’s Penguins ice hockey team.

Owner Block Communication had announced that the Post-Gazette would close its print edition on May 3. Hoffmann has also sold some titles, including the Arizona Daily Sun (to Wick Communications) and consolidated some others, and reduced the number of print days.

Despite the deals, Buffett had retained a warm spot for newspapers, expecially those with a national brand, such as the NYT or News Corp’s Wall Street Journal.

Now the US$350 million is the same amount of money that the Pittsburgh paper is reported to have lost over the last couple of decades. Attractions may go beyond the newspaper to digital interests such as Wordle and The Athletic, credited with more than 12 million digital subscribers.

Those looking to Buffett as a guiding light might also note that he may not have taken BH into the Times in any case; that it was the decision of new chief executive Greg Abel. Either way, the market seemed to like it, NYT shares gaining nearly three per cent in hours after the stake was announced.