Media
* Live Ventures Inc. President and CEO Jon Isaac saw his compensation decrease year over year to $213,465 in 2016, from $1.0 million in 2015, according to a June 2 SEC filing. Isaac's 2016 paycheck compensation consisted of $200,000 in salary and $13,465 in option awards. Tony Isaac, financial planning and strategist/economist, also saw his total compensation drop to $330,356 in 2016, down from $1.5 million in the year before. Isaac's salary decreased to $98,615 in 2016 from $123,692 in 2015. The company said in the filing that Isaac no longer received compensation as an executive officer of the company after April 30, 2016. Commencing as of May 1, 2016, Isaac received $2,000 per month as director compensation.
* Nancy Loewe, who was recently elected as a class I director of Cinemark Holdings Inc., will receive a base retainer fee of $60,000, plus a retainer of $10,000 for serving on the audit committee, according to a May 31 SEC filing. She will also get an annual grant of restricted shares of Cinemark's common stock valued at $115,000. The initial award and each annual award generally vest on the first anniversary of the date of the grant, subject to continued service to the company through the vesting dates.
* Jeffrey Coats, president, director and CEO of Autobytel Inc., saw his 2016 paycheck go up to $2.5 million from 2015's $976,000, according to a May 31 SEC filing. Coats' 2016 compensation included $550,000 in salary, about $1.4 million in option awards and $479,600 in nonequity incentive plan compensation. Executive Vice President and CFO Kimberly Boren also saw her total compensation rise year over year, taking home $947,342 in 2016, compared with $571,928 he netted in 2015. William Ferriolo, executive vice president and COO, took home roughly $1.2 million in 2016 compensation, down from $1.9 million in the prior year.
* Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeffrey Smulyan pulled in roughly $1.0 million in fiscal 2017 compensation, about a third less than his fiscal 2016 paycheck of $1.6 million, as per a May 26 SEC filing. Smulyan's fiscal 2017 pay package included $933,450 in salary and $38,715 in option awards. President and COO Patrick Walsh also saw his total compensation shrink year over year, netting $859,471 in fiscal 2017, compared with the $1.3 million he received in fiscal 2016. J. Scott Enright, general counsel and secretary, received $930,583 in fiscal 2017, up from $531,797 in the year before.
Communications
* CenturyLink Inc.'s board granted special restricted stock awards to certain officers for retention purposes, along with granting special cash and stock awards to certain officers "designed to incentivize them in their efforts to work towards" the company's planned merger deal with Level 3 Communications Inc., according to a June 1 SEC filing. The board granted retention awards to Aamir Hussain, chief technology officer and network operations, and Stacey Goff, general counsel and chief administrative officer, with a grant date value of $4.5 million for each executive. The retention awards will vest one-third per year over a three-year period, provided there is continued employment of the officers with the company. The committee also granted integration awards to certain executives: Hussain received $600,000; Goff $550,000; Dean Douglas, executive vice president of North America enterprise, was granted $500,000; and Glen Post III, president and CEO, received $3 million. Half of the integration award represents the target value of a cash payment and the remaining half was granted as shares of restricted stock.