Top executives and director of the E.W. Scripps Co. are taking voluntary salary and fee reductions as the Coronavirus crisis continues.
The company said it will make a donation to The Scripps Howard Foundation’s COVID-19 Employee Relief Fund equal to the amount saved as a result of the reduction in salaries and director fees. The Foundation created the fund to help Scripps employees who are adversely affected by COVID-19.
CEO Adam Symson is taking a 15% reduction in salary. The company’s other named officers are taking 10% pay cuts.
Those named officers include CFO Lisa Knutson, local media president Brian Lawlor, exec VP for national media Laura Tomlin, general counsel Bill Appleton, senior VP, controller and treasurer Dough Lyons, senior VP, corporate communications and investor relations, Carolyn Micheli and VP, benefits and compensation Julie McGehee.
The 11 members of the Scripps board are each taking a 15% reduction in cash compensation and board chairman Rich Bohene will forgo the remainder of his 2002 chairman fees.
The reductions are calculated based on executives’ 2019 salary after their 2020 salary increases were rolled back.
Execs at other media companies, including Comcast and Disney have also taken paycuts.
