• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, June 13, 2008 10:15 AM

Discovery Communications, parent of the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, isn't the biggest media company, but its executives are among the most highly paid.

A Securities & Exchange Commission filing revealed that Discovery founder and chairman John Hendricks earned nearly $57.9 million in cash and options last year, while CEO David Zaslav earned $19.1 million in cash and options for his first year on the job.

Other execs of top media companies have yet to catch up. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman had total compensation of $20.6 million in 2007. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves earned $36.8 million, and Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes pulled in $19.6 million. Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp., made $32.1 million in the year ending June 30, 2007.

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