My Tuesday post (LINK) showing employee compensation at
several national networks and organizations got a lot of attention. I had almost one thousand unique visitors
that day – one of my highest traffic days ever.
I got messages from two people with tips about noncom workplaces
where, in their opinion, people are handsomely paid. Here they are:
1. WNYC, NEW YORK
New York is a costly place to live. WNYC has extremely talented people. They also
pay well. I decided to find compensation
information for other noncom stations in the market for comparison.
NAME
|
TITLE
&
ORGANIZATION
|
ORG
LOCATION
|
TAX YEAR
|
SALARY &
BENEFITS
|
Laura Walker
|
CEO,
New York Public Radio WNYC & WQXR
|
New York
|
2012
|
$658,016
|
John Hockenberry
|
Host, The Takeaway
New York Public Radio
|
New York
|
2012
|
$346,672
|
Brian Lehrer
|
Host, The Brian Lehrer Show
New York Public Radio
|
New York
|
2012
|
$318,984
|
Dean Capello
|
EVP-Content
New York Public Radio
|
New York
|
2012
|
$300,371
|
Leonard Lopate
|
Host, The Leonard Lopate Show
New York Public Radio
|
New York
|
2012
|
$261,430
|
Lewis Kennedy &
Associates
|
Consultant, New York Public Radio
|
New York
|
2012
|
$167,001
|
Cephas Bowles*
|
CEO, Newark Public Radio
WBGO
|
Newark, NJ
|
2012
|
$154,567
|
Ken Freedman
|
Executive Director, Auricle
Communications
WFMU
|
Jersey City, NJ
|
2012
|
$93,337
|
* No longer in this position
I looked for, but couldn’t access, compensation info for
WFUV (no disclosure documents on their website); WNYE & WBAI (not disclosed);
and religious noncoms owned by Pillar of
Fire and Family Stations (both a
considered “churches” and are not required to disclose financial info).
2. EDUCATIONAL MEDIA
FOUNDATION (“EMF”) ROCKLIN, CA
EMF is the organization behind K-LOVE and AIR-1
Contemporary Christian Music – two national formats heard in virtually every
corner of the country. They own dozens of stations and translators. EMF’s 2013 total revenue was over
$141,000,000. They pay very, very well.
Here is a screenshot from their most recent IRS 990:
I found another interesting factoid: the compensation paid to EMF’s
pledge drive consultant Share Media Services [LINK]. Here are two screenshots from the EMF 2013 990:
Note that Share Media was paid a percentage of pledge drive
dollars they generated. They helped
raise $33,810,737 and paid Share Media $207,037 – less than a one percent commission. Some noncom folks frown on pledge drive commissions
(I don’t) but this looks like a very, very good deal for EMF. The total EMF paid share media in 2013 was
$340,180.
Share Media Services is the creation of Todd Isberner – someone
I don’t know but I admire his work. Todd Isberner is a smart passionate radio
pro who made the CCM format the success it is today.