JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon loves citing how much media companies spend on pay to deflect criticism of banker compensation. Now The New York Times has presented him with a golden opportunity to bring the topic up again when he hosts his firm’s Investor Day on Tuesday. The Gray Lady is paying former boss Janet Robinson $4.5 million this year for a part-time consultancy gig. That looks egregious enough to raise eyebrows even on Wall Street.
Footnoted, Morningstar’s eagle-eyed publication, on Monday spotted the full details of her contract that the Times had disclosed in a regulatory filing last week. Robinson’s lucrative deal requires her to work no more than 15 hours a month - and the filing suggests she will still collect the $4.5 million even if she doesn’t show up.
But let’s assume she puts in the maximum effort. That means she’ll make $25,000 an hour. An experienced reporter on the paper, meanwhile, makes around $1,778 a week, according to 2010 estimates published on about.com. That’s probably not gone up much and works out at $44 an hour, assuming a 40-hour week. At a minimum, then, Robinson will be making about 560 times a reporter’s salary - and that’s before factoring in other benefits that put the total exit package north of $21 million.
That’s a whopping amount for very little in anyone’s book, but even more so for a company that’s still struggling. The New York Times reported advertising revenue fell 7.1 per cent last quarter, with both print and online platforms taking a hit. The stock has fallen more than 70 per cent over the past five years.
Bankers have deservedly taken their fair share of criticism for their multi-million-dollar payouts. Granted, Wall Street pay is not a great comparison with newspaper salaries - not least because journalists don’t get bailed out by taxpayers. But The New York Times has just made itself an easy target for similar treatment. Dimon will welcome the gift.