Fat-Cat Newspaper Execs Don’t Answer to
Readers, Alice Cherbonnier, The Baltimore Chronicle
& Sentinal
The economy is hurting and belt-tightening is occurring in all
industries. But newspaper execs apparently have nothing to worry
about, reports Alice Cherbonnier, writing in the The
Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinal. ‘The heads of 12
publicly held newspaper companies took home an average of $3.6
million each last year.’ This is particularly disturbing when one
realizes that these same papers are laying off employees and
reducing the amount of news coverage. So, while the top execs are
still earning the big bucks, newspapers are sacrificing their
employees and their quality to uphold the bottom line during this
economic downturn. A competent press is one of the most vital
elements of a democratic society – which makes this trend in
cost-cutting particularly dangerous. What’s resulting is a climate
where ‘newspaper CEOs are increasingly being compensated based on
stock prices and how their companies perform financially – not for
producing quality journalism.’
–Al Paulson
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