The New York Times Co. is again considering charging for content on its flagship New York Times website and the sites of its other papers, chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. suggested to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting this week.

The company plans to "take a fresh, hard and deep look at various subscription, purchase and micropayment models," he said (via Adweek) - but advertising will remain a key piece of its revenue. "What we believe is that the advertising model we have used at NYTimes.com has generated more revenue than the vast majority of other organizations, including some that are much larger than our site."

Sulzberger also indicated it is "absolutely committed" to creating greater shareholder value. The NYTimes Co. has lost its investment-grade credit rating from all major ratings firms, and shares have lost 75% of their value in just the past year, reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

New York Times ad revenue fell by nearly $124 million in the first quarter of 2009, and internet ad revenue slumped, as well, down 8%, or $3.6 million.

Newspapers were already struggling with falling ad revenue as advertisers shifted much of their budgets from traditional media to the web. But the recession hit newspapers harder than all other media except, perhaps, radio. Zenith Optimedia is predicting that newspaper ad spending will fall 12% in 2009.