There’s been much discussion over the future of newspapers as we know them.

Will they survive the coming new tech phase or will their use fade away like papyrus scrolls? Publishers world wide continue to struggle with plummeting ad sales and circulation declines.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, one of the big 15 US newspapers, declared bankruptcy recently and Pulitzer Prize-winner Puerto Rican paper The Star was also forced to close its doors. Is this a taste of things to come?

Well, maybe not for The New York Times. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is reportedly close to investing about US$250 million in the paper, helping the ailing publisher repay mounting debts.

The board of the company, which publishes also The Boston Globe, along with several other US newspapers, is expected to meet today to approve the deal.

Slim owns a 6.4% stake in the company and is expected be given preferred stock with no voting rights, but with an annual dividend.

One of the wealthiest people in the world, Slim owns Latin American mobile phone giant America Movil and landline phone company Telefonos de Mexico, which was previously owned by the Mexican government. He also has major investments in retailing, construction, banking, insurance, railroads and mining.

Is major reinvestment the answer to the woes that betide the newspaper industry? For the short term it would appear so.