“Bankrupt newspaper companies are following the lead of AIG and Lehman Brothers and rewarding executives with large bonuses. The Tribune Co. is trying to pay out $13 million in bonuses, the Journal Registers Co. is trying to pay $2 million, and Philadelphia Newspapers has already given hundreds of thousands in bonuses to its corporate officers.”
Ganett CEO Craig Douchebow racked in $3.1 million for his outstanding performance in 2008. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the newspaper industry is rolling in the money!
I have to hand it to newspaper companies. Since we can longer reward success (due to a lack thereof) we might as well make lemonade out of lemons and reward failure.
It’s a morale booster of sorts. Think about it: What would make you want to work harder and innovate more after your furlough/pay cut than hearing that your fearless leaders are getting bonuses? Sure you might be struggling to pay the mortage on your $40,000 salary, but think about how executives will now be struggling to pay for maintanence on their yachts?
This is an unorthodox strategy for sure, but I have full confidence that giving bonuses to executives at failing companies is the best path forward.
