The Rise and Decline of American Newspapers

By Ken Silverstein

Gannett, by far the greediest newspaper chain in America and one that typically seeks to obtain profit margins otherwise available only to crack dealers, is cracking down on perks for top executives. No longer will the company pay club membership fees for execs, nor will it grant allowances for home security systems, except for CEO Craig Dubow.

Fortunately, Dubow will probably still be able to come up with the money to cover his club fees. His salary last year came to $1.2 million and he also received a $1.75 million bonus. Dubow’s total compensation package could be worth as much as $7.5 million. Four other corporate bigwigs did quite well too, receiving salary and bonus packages ranging from about $1 million to $1.3 million. Of course, these executives deserve the money. During the last year, they’ve overseen the collapse of the company’s stock price (by roughly 50 percent), laid off lots of Gannett workers, and managed to reduce the quality of most of their newspapers.