Ridder's $10M (golden) parachute

[quaoar]

http://www.nypost.com/business/65801.htm

May 11, 2006 -- Knight Ridder Chief Executive Tony Ridder, who failed to turn around the ailing newspaper chain his family founded, will get nearly $10 million in severance as he turns over the reins to a new owner.
Ridder, 65, is set to receive $9.36 million when the deal to sell Knight Ridder to McClatchy is completed in June, according to an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The hefty payout is more than the $7.28 million severance previously estimated for Ridder, who last year took home a salary of $980,000 and a bonus of $281,304. He has been at the company's helm for about 11 years.

In total, top executives at Knight Ridder, the nation's second-largest newspaper chain after USA Today publisher Gannett, stand to reap $29.9 million in severance. The executives, including Ridder, also are set to receive many millions more by cashing in on stock options and other stock awards, another stipulation included in the merger agreement.

The sizable paychecks come after years of belt-tightening by Knight Ridder, including a series of employee buyouts and layoffs, as the company tried to hang on to profits amid a drop in advertising and readership.

[Skink]

1. Run an honest newspaper you will be rewarded.

[Fierce]

2. Knight Ridder

has had some of the hardest-hitting coverage on the Iraq war I've seen. I fear for the Washington bureau after the sale.