Courier Clips 401(k) Match

The Indiana newspaper publisher said it hopes to resume its match of employees’ company stock 401(k) purchases when the economy improves. The 401(k) and pension changes are effective in April.

The retirement plan changes are part of a larger belt-tightening program that includes a 5% salary drop for salaried workers and a 3% salary decrease for hourly workers as of March 9, the company said.

Jack Pate, the publisher of Evansville Courier & Press, said in a news story that the decisions were largely a result of the rising cost of newsprint paper and a decline in revenues from advertising.

“Our problem is not the eyeballs we reach,” Pate said. “We have a lot of demand for our product, both in print and online.”

The company publishes the Courier & Press, The Gleaner, The Union County Advocate, Audubon Printing, and other businesses, all owned by the E.W. Scripps Company. Like other media companies hard-hit by the downturn, Scripps has made similar cuts at other newspapers (see “Denver Post Latest to Suspend 401(k) Match’).