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Lee Enterprises Leaders Paid Hefty Bonuses

The CEO and Treasurer of Lee Enterprises is receiving a hefty bonus despite the company's recent exit from bankruptcy and a billion dollar debt load.Lee owns the Southern Illinoisan and more than 40 other daily newspapers. An SEC filing shows Lee Enterprises CEO and Chair Mary Junck received a half a million dollar bonus and Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer Carl Schmidt received a quarter million dollars in discretionary bonuses approved by Lee's board.

The payouts come as Lee exits bankruptcy still owing a billion dollars in debt. The prepackaged filing allowed refinancing of the debt at higher interest rates and eliminated 13% of shareholder value.  It did stave off auditor and analyst concerns that Lee would not be able to continue as a business. Lee publishes dozens of newspapers including the Bloomington Pantagraph, Decatur Herald and Review, and the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch.

Lee's stock price has also fallen from nearly fifty dollars eight years ago to just above a dollar now. Lee also recently chose to outsource Pantagraph printing operations, trimming a few more jobs from Bloomington-Normal.

Jeff Williams is the Associate Director for Radio and Station Manager for WSIU Radio. Jeff is a native of southern Illinois and has been in broadcasting for 30 years. Contact WSIU Radio at 618-453-6101 or email wsiuradio@wsiu.org
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