NEW YORK TIMES CO
NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS DEFERRAL PLAN
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<TYPE>EX-10.17
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>ex10-17.txt
<DESCRIPTION>NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS DEFERRAL PLAN
<TEXT>

                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.17

                           THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY
                      NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS DEFERRAL PLAN
                       AS AMENDED THROUGH JANUARY 1, 2002

                                    ARTICLE 1

                                NAME AND PURPOSE

The New York Times Company (the "Company") hereby establishes The New York Times
Company Non-Employee Directors Deferral Plan (the "Plan"). The purpose of the
Plan is to provide a means for the elective deferral of the payment of
compensation payable to non-employee directors of the Company.

                                    ARTICLE 2

                                 EFFECTIVE DATE

The Plan is effective as of September 17, 1997 (the "Effective Date").

                                    ARTICLE 3

                                  PARTICIPATION

Each member of the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") who is not an
employee of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company may participate in the
Plan (each a "Non-Employee Director").

                                    ARTICLE 4

                               DEFERRAL ELECTIONS

Pursuant to the terms of the Plan, a Non-Employee Director may make an election
to defer a percentage of (i) the annual retainer fee payable in respect of the
Non-Employee Director's service on the Board and (ii) the Board meeting fees and
committee meeting fees payable in respect of the Non-Employee Director's
attendance at such meetings (collectively, "Compensation"). A Non-Employee
Director's deferral election may apply to one or both of the foregoing
categories of Compensation and may range from 10% to 100% of such Compensation,
in 10% gradations, as elected by the Non-Employee Director. Each initial
deferral election and each change to an existing deferral election shall be made
by the submission of an Election Form as follows:

(a)   Prior to the Effective Date of the Plan, each Non-Employee Director may
      submit an Election Form which will be given effect with respect to
      Compensation payable to the Non-Employee
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      Director after the Effective Date of the Plan.

(b)   Each Non-Employee Director initially elected or appointed to the Board on
      or after the Effective Date of the Plan may submit an Election Form prior
      to the later of thirty (30) calendar days following the Non-Employee
      Director's election or appointment or the date on which the Non-Employee
      Director receives his or her first payment of Compensation, which Election
      Form will be given effect with respect to Compensation payable after the
      submission of the Election Form.

(c)   At any time after the election periods described in subparagraphs (a) and
      (b) above, a Non-Employee Director may submit an initial Election Form or
      a new Election Form superseding an existing Election Form, in which case
      such initial or new Election Form will be given effect with respect to
      Compensation payable after the commencement of the calendar year
      immediately following the submission of such Election Form.

                                    ARTICLE 5

                             BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION

Each Non-Employee Director may, at any time, designate one or more Beneficiaries
to receive amounts credited to the Non-Employee Director's deferral account in
the event of the Non-Employee Director's death. A Non-Employee Director may make
an initial Beneficiary designation, or change an existing Beneficiary
designation, by completing and signing a Beneficiary Designation Form and
submitting it to the Secretary of the Company. Upon acceptance by the Secretary
of the Company of a Non-Employee Director's Beneficiary Designation Form, all
Beneficiary designations previously filed shall automatically be canceled.

                                    ARTICLE 6

                        MAINTENANCE OF DEFERRED ACCOUNTS

Compensation may be deferred by a Non-Employee Director under the Plan either in
the form of cash or units of common stock of the Company ("Stock") (but in no
event shall deferrals be made in a combination of cash and Stock). Compensation
deferred by a Non-Employee Director under the Plan shall be credited to a record
keeping account maintained by the Company in the Non-Employee Director's name as
follows:

(a)   CASH DEFERRALS. Deferrals made in cash shall be credited to an account
      ("Cash Deferral Account") as of the date on which such Compensation would
      otherwise have been paid to the Non-Employee Director. All amounts
      credited to a Non-Employee Director's Cash Deferral Account shall accrue
      interest from the time such amounts would otherwise have been paid to the
      Non-Employee Director until the date that such amounts cease accruing
      interest in connection with a distribution pursuant to Article 7 or
      Article 12. The interest rate shall be reset annually and shall equal the
      interest rate payable on one-year U.S.

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      Treasury Bills auctioned in the first auction of the calendar year;
      provided however, if no one-year U.S. Treasury Bills are being auctioned,
      such interest rate shall equal the closing yield on a U.S. Treasury Note
      with one-year remaining to maturity as of the first business day of the
      calendar year. Interest in a Cash Deferral Account shall be compounded as
      of the last business day of each calendar quarter.

(b)   STOCK DEFERRALS. Deferrals made in Stock shall be credited to an account
      ("Stock Deferral Account") as of the last day of the calendar quarter in
      which such Compensation would otherwise have been paid to the Non-Employee
      Director. Deferrals made in Stock shall accrue interest from the date such
      Compensation would otherwise have been paid to the Non-Employee Director
      to the date such amounts are converted to Stock. All amounts credited to a
      Non-Employee Director's Stock Deferral Account shall be credited using the
      Stock price at the close of business on the last business day of the
      calendar quarter in the period in which such Compensation would otherwise
      have been paid. Dividends with respect to any such Stock credited to a
      Non-Employee Director's Stock Deferral Account will be credited as cash on
      the dividend payment dates and shall accrue interest from such time until
      such amounts are converted to Stock pursuant to the terms of this
      paragraph. All such cash shall be converted to Stock at the close of
      business on the last day of the calendar quarter in which such dividends
      are credited to the Non-Employee's Stock Deferral Account. The interest
      rate for purposes of this paragraph (b) shall be the rate set forth in
      paragraph (a) above.

                                    ARTICLE 7

                       METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION OF DEFERRALS

No distribution of deferrals may be made except as provided in this Article 7
and Article 12. All distributions, whether deferrals are made in cash or Stock,
shall be made in cash as provided hereunder.

(a)   CASH DEFERRALS. As described in the following sentence, the full amount
      credited to a Non-Employee Director's Cash Deferral Account shall be
      distributed to the Non-Employee Director after the cessation of the
      Non-Employee Director's service on the Board for any reason other than
      death. Such distribution shall (i) be made in the form of a lump sum cash
      payment within thirty (30) days following the end of the month in which
      the Non-Employee Director ceases service and shall consist of all amounts
      credited to such Non-Employee Director's Cash Deferral Account plus
      interest accrued through the end of the month in which the Non-Employee
      Director ceases service or (ii) be made in the form of substantially equal
      annual cash installments over a period of up to ten (10) years, payable as
      of January 30 of each of the selected number of years immediately
      following the Non-Employee Director's cessation of service, as designated
      on the Distribution Election Form submitted by the Non-Employee Director.
      Each such cash installment shall consist of all amounts credited to such
      Non-Employee Director's Cash Deferral Account, plus interest accrued
      through the end of the calendar year prior to the year in which each such
      cash installment is paid, divided by the remaining number of years during
      which the amounts are to be distributed. For these purposes, a
      Non-Employee Director may submit an initial Distribution Election Form, or
      a new Distribution Election Form superseding an existing Distribution
      Election Form, on any date which is (A) prior to the commencement of the
      calendar year in which the Non-

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      Employee Director's service ceases and (B) at least six (6) months prior
      to such cessation of service. If a Non-Employee Director has not properly
      completed and submitted a Distribution Election Form, the Non-Employee
      Director's deferral account shall be distributed in the form of a lump sum
      cash payment as described in (i) above.

(b)   STOCK DEFERRALS. As described in the following sentence, the full amount
      credited to a Non-Employee Director's Stock Deferral Account shall be
      distributed to the Non-Employee Director after the cessation of the
      Non-Employee Director's service on the Board for any reason other than
      death. Such distribution shall (i) be made in the form of a lump sum cash
      payment within thirty (30) days following the end of the month in which
      the Non-Employee Director ceases service and shall be calculated by
      multiplying the number of units of Stock credited to the Non-Employee
      Director's Stock Deferral Account multiplied by the Stock price of a share
      of Stock on the last business day of the month in which the Non-Employee
      Director ceases service and crediting such amount with any dividend
      equivalent and interest accrued thereon through the end of the month in
      which the Non-Employee Director ceases service, or (ii) be made in the
      form of substantially equal annual cash installments over a period of up
      to ten (10) years, payable as of January 30 of each of the selected number
      of years immediately following the Non-Employee Director's cessation of
      service, as designated on the Distribution Election Form submitted by the
      Non-Employee Director. Each such installment shall be calculated by
      multiplying the number of units of Stock credited to such Non-Employee
      Director's Stock Deferral Account by the Stock price of a Share of Stock
      on the last business day of the calendar year prior to the year in which
      each such installment is paid, and crediting such amount with any dividend
      equivalent and interest accrued thereon through the end of the calendar
      year prior to the year in which each such installment is paid, dividing
      the total thereof by the remaining number of years during which the
      amounts are to be distributed. For these purposes, a Non-Employee Director
      may submit an initial Distribution Election Form, or a new Distribution
      Election Form superseding an existing Distribution Election Form, on any
      date which is (A) prior to the commencement of the calendar year in which
      the Non-Employee Director's service ceases and (B) at least six (6) months
      prior to such cessation of service. If a Non-Employee Director has not
      properly completed and submitted a Distribution Election Form, the
      Non-Employee Director's deferral account shall be distributed in the form
      of a lump sum cash payment as described in (i) above.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the written request of a Non-Employee
Director, the Nominating Committee of the Board (in its role as Plan
administrator), may in its sole discretion, accelerate the payment of amounts
credited to the Non-Employee Director's deferral account, upon a showing of
unforeseeable emergency by such Non-Employee Director, taking into account the
Non-Employee Director's other financial resources. Such distribution shall be
made in the form of a lump sum cash payment and shall not exceed the lesser of
(x) the amount necessary to meet the financial need created by the unforeseeable
emergency or (y) all amounts credited to such Non-Employee Director's deferral
account plus interest accrued through the end of the month immediately preceding
the month in which such request was made. To the extent the amount necessary to
meet the Non-Employee Director's unforeseeable emergency exceeds the amount
credited to his Cash Deferral Account, the amount of units of Stock necessary to
meet such unforeseeable emergency shall be paid in cash and shall be valued as
of the day such request is made. For these purposes, "unforeseeable emergency"
is a severe financial hardship
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resulting from extraordinary and unanticipated circumstances arising as a result
of one or more recent events beyond the control of the Non-Employee Director. In
any event, payment may not be made to the extent such emergency is or may be
relieved: (1) through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise;
(2) by liquidation of the Non-Employee Director's assets, to the extent the
liquidation of such assets would not, itself, cause severe financial hardship;
and (3) by cessation of deferrals under the Plan. Examples of what are not
considered to be unforeseeable emergencies include the payment of a child's
tuition expenses or the desire to purchase a home.

In the event of a Non-Employee Director's death either before or after the
Non-Employee Director's cessation of service on the Board, all amounts then
credited to the Non-Employee Director's Cash Deferral Account and Stock Deferral
Account shall be distributed to the Non-Employee Director's designated
Beneficiaries in the form of a lump sum cash payment within thirty (30) days
after the end of the month in which such death occurred or as soon as
practicable thereafter and shall consist of all amounts credited to such
Non-Employee Director's deferral accounts plus any dividend equivalents and
interest accrued through the end of the month in which such death occurred.
Units of Stock in a Non-Employee Director's Stock Deferral Account shall be
valued as of the last business day of the month in which such death occurred. If
the Non-Employee Director has not designated a Beneficiary or the Non-Employee
Director's designated Beneficiary(ies) do not survive the Non-Employee Director,
the full amount of the Non-Employee Director's deferral account shall be paid to
the Non-Employee Director's spouse, or if there is no spouse, to the
Non-Employee Director's estate.

                                    ARTICLE 8

                           UNFUNDED STATUS OF THE PLAN

A Non-Employee Director shall not have any interest in any amount credited to
his or her deferral account until it is distributed in accordance with the Plan.
Distributions under the Plan shall be made only from the general assets of the
Company. All amounts deferred under the Plan shall remain the sole property of
the Company, subject to the claims of its general creditors and available for
its use for whatever purposes are desired. With respect to amounts deferred, a
Non-Employee Director is merely a general creditor of the Company; and the
obligation of the Company hereunder is purely contractual and shall not be
funded or secured in any way.

                                    ARTICLE 9

                    NON-ALIENABILITY AND NON-TRANSFERABILITY

The rights of a Non-Employee Director to the payment of amounts credited to his
or her deferral account shall not be assigned, transferred, pledged or
encumbered or be subject in any manner to alienation or anticipation. A
Non-Employee Director may not borrow against amounts credited to the
Non-Employee Director's account and such amounts shall not be subject in any
manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge,
encumbrance, change, garnishment, execution or levy of any kind, whether
voluntary or involuntary, prior to distribution.

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                                   ARTICLE 10

                              STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT

Statements will be sent to each Non-Employee Director within thirty (30) days of
the beginning of each calendar year indicating the balance of the Non-Employee
Director's account as of the end of the previous calendar year.

                                   ARTICLE 11

                                 ADMINISTRATION

The Plan is intended to be self-effectuating and does not require the exercise
of discretion by the Company. However, to the extent necessary, the Nominating
Committee of the Board shall act as the Plan administrator for purposes of
resolving any ambiguities, claims or disputes arising with respect to the Plan
or any deferrals under the Plan. As such the Nominating Committee is authorized
to make any rulings and determinations that it deems to be appropriate and
consistent with the terms and intent of the Plan and all such rulings and
determinations shall be final and binding upon all parties for all purposes. Any
member of the Nominating Committee making a claim or request to the Nominating
Committee with respect to his or her rights or interests under the Plan shall
recuse himself or herself from the Nominating Committee's determination with
respect to such claim or request.

                                   ARTICLE 12

                            AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

The Plan may, at any time, be amended, modified or terminated by the Board. No
amendment, modification or termination shall, without the consent of a
Non-Employee Director, adversely affect such Non-Employee Director's rights with
respect to amounts accrued under his or her deferral account. Notwithstanding
the foregoing or anything else to the contrary contained in the Plan, as a
consequence of any such amendment, modification or termination, the Board may
provide in its sole discretion that the account of any Non-Employee Director may
be paid on an accelerated basis without regard to the tax effect that it may
have for the Non-Employee Director or his Beneficiary(ies) or estate.

                                   ARTICLE 13

                                     NOTICES

All notices and forms to be submitted to the Company hereunder shall be
delivered to the attention of the Secretary of the Company.

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