Times Chief to Get $15M Exit Package

For those who think there’s no money in media, mull this one over: Janet Robinson, who is stepping down as chief executive of The New York Times Co., will be paid more than $15 million upon stepping down on Dec. 31, sources tell Reuters. Robinson will get $4.5 million for consulting and $10.9 million in pension benefits that she accrued throughout her 28 years at the paper. A regulatory filing said the Times previously ruled that Robinson, 61, wouldn’t be eligible for full pension benefits until she was 63, having been with the company for 30 years. But sources said they adapted the rules to her departure agreement. Meanwhile, the company’s flagship newspaper has been hit with buyouts and the parent company is selling 16 regional newspapers to Halifax Media Holdings. A number of staffers took buyouts, including well-known writers, and apparently there have been grumbles from the newsroom about Robinson’s large severance.