New York Times holds course in 'brutal' conditions

* New York Times Co to stay public, independent

* Investors re-elect company directors

* Shares unchanged at $4.94

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - The New York Times Co (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will remain publicly traded, build its online business and cut costs despite "brutal" conditions that threaten the survival of newspapers, Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr said at the publisher's annual meeting on Thursday.

Sulzberger expressed his confidence about the future of the Times Co, while acknowledging that big problems stand in the way of improving its business.

The financial crisis and recession have had "brutal effects on all of us in the media business," Sulzberger told investors from a podium in an auditorium at its headquarters in New York City, his top executives seated nearby with grim faces.

"The New York Times Company is no exception," he said. "Business will continue to be difficult."

The meeting did not produce any radical changes in course, nor did it produce fireworks among shareholders, even as pressure grows on Sulzberger to find a way to fix the business, and experts wonder how long the Times Co can survive.