Friday, April 03, 2009

In $1,923 column, Big Al slams do-nothing directors


"As is too often the case,
his board of directors simply went along."

-- Gannett consultant/columnist-for-life Al Neuharth, writing today about the General Motors board ousting CEO Rick Wagoner.


Al-O-Meter: $27K!
Chairman from 1979 to 1989, Neuharth, now 85, persuaded Gannett's compliant board of directors to hand him a $100,000-a-year lifetime consulting gig in retirement. Here's the year-to-date cost of Neuharth's weekly USA Today columns under that contract: $26,923.

3 comments:

  1. Kettle... meet you know what?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim,

    Al Neuharth actually had a fairly competent board of directors, a number of whom understood the newspaper business extremely well and were actively involved in GCI in a positive way.

    He also had in John C. Quinn a chief news executive who served as the conscience of the company.

    My mother always told me that if I couldn't say something nice I shouldn't say anything at all. Heeding her advice, there's nothing I can say about the current board or top executives.

    73s,
    John M. Simpson
    Former Deputy Editor
    USA Today

    ReplyDelete
  3. When will you tire of bashing on that old coot? YOu are getting to be quite monotonous.

    ReplyDelete

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