By: Mark Fitzgerald In the proxy filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its June 13 annual meeting, newspaper publisher Hollinger International documents the handsome compensation it once awarded to non-management directors.
When the Chicago Sun-Times parent corporation was controlled by former media mogul Conrad Black, the board was largely composed of geopolitical luminaries who failed to uncover alleged widespread looting of the company by Black and other top executives.
Hollinger said in fiscal 2005 it paid former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for instance, a total of $100,000. Former U.S. Ambassador Richard Burt did even better, pocketing $143,000. And among the Americans, former Illinois Gov. James R. "Big Jim" Thompson did best of all, receiving $165,250. (Former National Security Advisor Richard Perle, who is listed as "Robert" on the proxy, received $71,000.)
All four have left the board.
Hollinger International even paid Black and his wife Barbara Amiel Black during fiscal 2005, the proxy shows. Black -- who is swapping lawsuits with Hollinger, which recently agreed to pay half of his legal bills -- resigned as International's CEO in 2003, and was forced out as chairman in January 2004, but remained a director until he resigned along with his wife in June 2005.
Barbara Amiel Black was paid $23,833 as a director in 2005, according to the SEC filing.
Hollinger International, which wants to change its name to Sun-Times Media Group at its annual meeting, said it has adopted new arrangements in which non-management directors will be paid a $50,000 retainer, with half in cash and the other in deferred stock unit. A fee of $3,000 will be paid for each meeting attended. In 2005, the company said, it held four meetings.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here