KQED's Cuts Reached 44, But Top Execs Thrive

Looking over a decade's worth of 990's filed by Northern California Public Broadcasting (NCPB), which owns KQED and several smaller stations, it is revealing to see how rapidly executive compensation for the highest paid officials has grown.
Jeff Clarke, who became CEO in 2002, recieved double-digit raises his first full three years on the job, until his salary and benefits rose above $400,000 annually in FY 2005.

The company's most recent filing for FY 2007, reveals that its eight highest paid execs received raises of 7.4, 8, 13.9, 14.6, 5.8 and 6.8 percent (the other two were new hires) and their comp packages ranged from the $180,000s to $417,000+.

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Meanwhile, the company somewhat played down the number of layoffs it made this past week by announcing the number as 30. This did not include at least 14 open positions that went unfilled.

Insiders report the current headcount is 258, indicating that the true scope of the job eliminations was around 14 percent of the company, as opposed to the 10 percent originally reported.

Morale appears to be very low in at least some parts of the non-profit company, based on numerous comments by various disgruntled employees. Ironically, several station employees had to read promo copy this week about an upcoming report about what happens to a company's morale in the wake of a large wave of layoffs.