Memo Pad: Blender Mag Folds... More Cutbacks at the Times...

MORE CUTBACKS AT THE TIMES: The New York Times said Thursday it is implementing a temporary five percent wage cut across the board, which will include 10-day leaves, and has laid off 100 business-side employees. (The company has asked for Newspaper Guild approval of the plan, and nonunion employees will see the cuts unilaterally.) As of yet, the New York Times Co. has relied far less on newsroom cuts than other newspapers, tackling its shrinking ad revenue and sizeable debt with measures that include a $250 million loan from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú and a lease-back agreement for its new New York headquarters building.

The salary cuts at other Times Co. properties, such as About.com and the Regional Media Group, are smaller, at 2.5 percent.

“Next year, we plan to return salaries to their current levels. Of course, such a decision depends on the state of our business,” New York Times chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and chief executive officer Janet Robinson wrote in a memo to staff.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on March 11, Sulzberger’s total compensation in 2008 fell by about $1 million, to $2.4 million, with a bonus of $38,045 to compensate for a salary freeze. An Associated Press analysis also concluded that Robinson received a package worth $4.4 million, more than half of which was in equity awards that are currently worthless. In total, she was paid about $600,000 above her base salary in cash bonuses. A Times spokeswoman said, “Arthur and Janet will have their pay reduced 5 percent. It’s too early to say what will happen with bonuses.”

— Irin Carmon