April 25--Tribune Media CEO Peter Liguori received $23 million in total compensation last year, while his Tribune Publishing counterpart, Jack Griffin, made $3.16 million, according to recently filed financial statements.
The Chicago-based companies, which were formerly under one corporate umbrella as Tribune Co., included the compensation of their top executives in separate filings this month with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tribune Media spun off its newspaper holdings, including the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, into a stand-alone publishing company in August. The newly public companies filed their first proxy statements ahead of their annual shareholder meetings, which are both scheduled for May.
The $23 million compensation package for Liguori consisted of a $1.6 million base salary, $1.5 million in incentive compensation and $19.9 million in stock and option awards.
Tribune Media saw operating revenue increase 70 percent last year to $1.95 billion. Net income was $476 million, up from $242 million in 2013.
Formerly known as Tribune Co., Tribune Media owns and operates 42 local television stations, national cable channel WGN America, WGN Radio and other broadcasting assets, as well as real estate holdings and equity investments. It began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TRCO in December.
Tribune Media will report its first quarter earnings May 8.
Griffin, who started with Tribune Publishing in April 2014, received a prorated $713,000 of his annual $1 million base salary. His compensation also included stock and option awards, a bonus and a management incentive award.
Tribune Publishing came up about $2 million short of its earnings goal last year, which was an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $212.5 million. Griffin received a management incentive award of $357,534 pegged to earnings, and another $357,534 in the form of a corporate initiative award for his role in the spinoff from Tribune Media.
Tony Hunter, publisher and CEO of the Chicago Tribune Media Group, earned $2.15 million in 2014, including a $500,000 retention bonus. The total also includes a $625,000 management incentive award after the Chicago Tribune surpassed its target earnings goal with an adjusted EBITDA of $89 million.
Tribune Publishing owns and operates 10 daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. The company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TPUB, will report its first quarter earnings for 2015 on May 6.
Proxy statements are required to disclose detailed compensation paid to the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and the three other most highly compensated executive officers, according to the SEC.
rchannick@tribpub.com
