by KYW's Mike Dunn
The parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News was headed to US bankruptcy court on Tuesday for what is called a "first hearing" on its Chapter 11 filing.
Papers filed in bankruptcy court by Philadelphia newspaper publisher Brian Tierney show that even as he struggled to renegotiate terms with lenders to keep the papers afloat, and even as members of one union agreed to forego a $5-per-week raise to help the paper survive, Tierney himself received two raises worth $250,000.
Among the hundreds of pages of legal documents filed in bankruptcy court by Philadelphia Newspapers LLC (see related story) is a declaration of the newspapers' finances, including information about the salary of publisher and CEO Brian Tierney.
One year ago at this time Tierney (in file photo above) had a base salary of $600,000 per year. But during 2008 he got two raises -- the first, in May, increased his salary by $18,000 per year. And the second, in December, brought his salary up an additional $232,000 per year to a total of $850,000.
A spokesman for Tierney says the board voted to approve the two raises to reward Tierney for operational improvements and efficiencies put into place, and because Tierney is saving the firm money by serving as both CEO and publisher.
The spokesman indicates that the bankruptcy filing was predominantly due to the company's debt load amid declining revenues and largely unrelated to Tierney's salary.
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