Gary Pruitt gets pay cut

McClatchy credit rating falls again; CEO's pay declines

The McClatchy Co.'s credit rating was lowered again Tuesday, but the downgrade won't cost the Sacramento-based newspaper chain any money.

Meanwhile, McClatchy has disclosed in its proxy statement that Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt made $4.6 million in total compensation last year, down from $5.6 million in 2006. McClatchy officials said Pruitt's compensation actually dropped further than that, based on an alternative calculation method.

Moody's Investors Service dropped McClatchy's rating one notch, to Ba3 from Ba2, saying it believes The Bee's owner's revenue decline is worsening. Moody's already downgraded McClatchy in January.

McClatchy said in its annual proxy statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Pruitt's $4.6 million in compensation included $1.1 million in base pay, an $800,000 performance bonus, as well as about $2 million in stock and option grants and other forms of compensation.

McClatchy officials believe the proxy statement overstated Pruitt's true compensation in 2007. Under SEC rules, stock and option grants made to Pruitt in prior years had to be included in the 2007 compensation calculation, said Karole Morgan-Prager, McClatchy's vice president and general counsel.

Under an alternate calculation formula developed by the Associated Press – which eliminates the earlier stock and options grants – Pruitt's compensation fell to $2.9 million in 2007 from $5.5 million in 2006.

Click on the headline to read the full story in the Sacramento Bee by reporter Dale Kasler