• Reuters, Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:16 AM

Could this become a publishing trend? Lee Enterprises, publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and several small U.S. daily newspapers, is learning the public relations benefits of putting executive pay restrictions in the spotlight.

When Lee released its annual proxy filing with the U.S. government on Monday, it included this news: "For 2009, we have frozen the salaries of executive officers, including CEO Mary Junck, at 2008 levels." Not only that, Lee scotched its bonus plan for top executives (which could have been as much as 250% percent of base pay) and nixed contributions to the execs' long-term incentive plans, usually given in the form of stock.

These very public decisions may help avoid a restive employee base. Lee is in trouble if it can't negotiate new terms with its lenders -- debt could overwhelm the company and potentially break it up. It's not the time you want to be sending your top executives on junkets and boosting their pay packages.

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