Despite falling short in two recent attempts to become a major player in The New York Times Co., David Geffen continues to be seriously interested in buying a sizable piece of the company or taking it over completely, according to people who are very familiar with his thinking, though he is wary of doing anything to antagonize the controlling Sulzberger family.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of the company and publisher of the flagship Times newspaper, has insisted repeatedly that the family will not sell. Geffen? plan is to wait in the wings rather than making a fresh offer, thinking that the family may eventually seek a buyer if the company? fortunes deteriorate further, according to these people, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to alienate either Geffen or the Sulzbergers.

People close to Mr. Geffen say he wants to ensure that The Times will continue its journalistic mission, and thinks that ownership by a nonprofit corporation would best achieve that end, but that he is not interested in running the company or the paper himself. Those who have followed his career as a music and movie mogul, however, say it is hard to imagine Mr. Geffen as the passive owner of anything.

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