The New York Times filed a proxy statement Friday that revealed its top executives' 2009 salaries — as well as a bizarre bonus for hiring minorities.
Paid Content analyzes the filing to reveal that both Chairman Arthur Sulzberger and CEO Janet Robinson enjoyed huge boosts in salary in 2009:
In total '09, Sulzberger's compensation was $5,986,738, more than double the $2,331,599 he earned last year. His base salary for last year was $1,046,238. Robinson did even better, earning a total of $6,262,755, which included a base salary of $962,500, for a significant 31.9 percent rise in earnings over last year's $4,753,314.
The paper was forced to cut staff via layoffs late last year, and considered selling the Boston Globe midway through the year. It recently turned a profit, largely on cost-cutting.
Business Insider points out an interesting nugget from the filing: a bonus structure designed to diversify the work force, by rewarding executives who hire minorities:
The [Compensation] Committee also retained the discretion to increase or decrease the individual component of the total bonus paid to each executive by up to 10% based on the continuing development of a diverse work force, including the inclusion of diverse candidates in hiring processes and the demonstration of personal commitment to diversity through participation in diversity-related activities, such as mentoring and sponsorship of affinity groups.
As Henry Blodget notes, neither Sulzberger nor Robinson met the criteria for a minority recruitment bonus; "regional media group" CEO Michael Golden, however, received an extra 5% through this structure.