Shame on you Freedom Communication Executives

Ok, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised but if anyone ever needed evidence that most execs are lying pieces of shit, this should do it.
http://azcapitoltimes.com/azpolicywonk/2009/11/05/freedom-paid-out-37m-in-bonuses-to-top-executives/
They talked to employees about belt tightening and the bad state of the industry and then took a bunch of cash in bonuses. Wow, your arrogance is astounding and I can't even begin to know how you live with yourself. Hope you had fun with your bonus while some poor guy you laid off is trying to find work in an industry you helped ruin.

 

Eff you Freedom. That is bullshit of the highest order.

 

Moreno should be kicked square in here ass. How can she and other execs look at the rest of the staff?
Damn. Damn. Damn.

 

One name on that list caught my eye
James Shine - Lima News
$16,000 (three MBO bonuses)

His father, the late Neal Shine -- a legend in Detroit newspaper circles -- would be ashamed that he took a bonus like that on the backs of his staff, or what's left of it.

 

I'm glad this sort of thing is getting coverage, but what is the next step? Is it a law that limits executive compensation, especially for struggling companies? Is there nothing that can be done and we'll all eventually get tired of it and forget about this (something these kinds of people would probably like)?
I think people with money tend to think the rules don't apply to them. I doubt many of them understand why people get upset with them for getting money they probably think they deserve.

I just think it's flat-out evil to take that kind of money while your company goes under.

 

Not that JRC should be a surprise. But in its bankruptcy proceedings, money was set aside for what was called "shutdown bonuses" in the bankruptcy filing. In essence, executives were given bonuses for closing papers and laying off employees because it was not in the scope of their responsibilities.
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2009/07/jrc_gets_ok_to.php

 

James Shine's "bonus" is 70% percent of the annual salary I was pulling when I worked at the Freedom shop in Yuma. The math put the $16,000 in perspective for me.

ETA: I think persistent, drum-pounding coverage of bullshit like this, and the shamefulness going on with the Wall Street firms like Goldman-Sachs, is the best way to police this. Publish the names of every Freedom exec. and their ilk who got a bonus and pilloary them in the public square. I wouldn't mind seeing regulatory legislation, but shame and ridicule are also powerful motivational tools.

 

You're assuming that the executives in question -- heck, any of the executives that have made decisions like this -- feel any shame (which it doesn't appear that they do), or that they would acknowledge any ridicule (more of a possibility, but a slight one) ...

Still, screw Freedom's execs with a rusty auger ...

 

I was amazed at some of Freedom's bullshit during my three years on the border in the early '90s.

Now, from afar, not so much.

 

Gatehouse has bonus seats as well: http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2009/03/gatehouse-offer-letter-to-new-cfo.html

...and from the annual report filed earlier this year: http://investors.gatehousemedia.com/SECFilingNav.cfm?FilingID=1193125-09-53911

"Item 9B. Other Information

On March 12, 2009, awards of annual cash bonuses to certain GateHouse Media, Inc. executive officers were declared, as set forth below. It is anticipated that such bonuses will be paid out late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2009.

Michael R. Reed
Chief Executive Officer
$ 50,000

Gene A. Hall
Executive Vice President
$ 50,000

Scott T. Champion
Regional Manager
$ 50,000

Polly Grunfeld Sack
Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel
$ 75,000

Kirk A. Davis
President and Chief Operating Officer
$ 50,000

Mark Maring
Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Development
$ 70,000

 

This is sickening. But not to those getting the money.

For them, it is just part of what they consider their pay. That's how they can live with themselves. Do any of us ever feel bad about drawing and cashing our pay? No.

And, they can look at other staffers because, well, they usually don't have to. Here's betting that these people actually have met or really know very few of their staff members.

How often are they in the offices? And when they are, who do they spend time and interact with? Each other, that's who -- not working staff members.

You'd think they'd think of and see things the way we do, but they don't, and, unless he or she is a very unusual person, they can't. It's a matter of perspective. They have theirs and we have ours, and seldom the twain shall meet.

People, for the most part, care about and look out for themselves first and foremost. It usually takes a lot for them to think of and really care about others, or to give them any priority, especially in otherwise lean times.

Not saying any of this is right -- it's too bad and unfortunate, actually -- but I think this is the reality.

 

Won't necessarily shame them. When the SEC started requiring companies to report executive compensation, for instance, it actually led to an increase in pay. Rather than be ashamed of their pay levels, executives used each others' pay to justify increasing their own salaries.