INQUIRER: WHYY is a relatively low-profile station in the world of public broadcasting. It doesn’t produce flashy, syndicated television shows like Frontline, from Boston’s WGBH, or Nature, from New York’s WNET. Among public stations in the top-10 markets, it is in the middle of the pack for budget and staff. WHYY is tops in one category — how much it rewards its chief executive.
President and CEO William J. Marrazzo’s potential pay, benefits and expenses totaled $740,090 in the year ending June 30, 2007, according to its most recent tax filing. The package consists of $415,993 in salary, $317,240 in benefits and $6,857 in expenses. Those benefits include $280,000 in deferred compensation reported to the IRS that Marrazzo will receive next July if he meets performance goals, as he has in the past.
Marrazzo’s total outstripped that of chief executives at WNET and WGBH, with five and six times WHYY’s revenues. It also exceeded the compensation of the heads of the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio, networks that serve stations countrywide. As a public station, WHYY received nearly $4 million in tax dollars in 2007. It spent $2.63 out of every $100 in expenditures on its CEO — more than any other public station in the largest markets. MORE