Note 7 - Retirement and Postretirement Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 7: Retirement and Postretirement Plans

Prior to the Legacy Media General merger, the Company only had the KRON/IBEW Local 45 Pension Plan which covers the IBEW Local 45 employees of KRON-TV. The Company froze benefit accruals under this plan in 2005. All employees who earned seven full years of vested service as of October 2005 are 100% vested in the pension benefits earned. If an employee had not yet earned seven full years of vested service, he or she is considered partially vested and, provided employment with the Company continues, can continue to earn credit for years of service.

In conjunction with the Legacy Media General merger, the Company assumed Legacy Media General’s retirement and postretirement plans as of November 12, 2013. Legacy Media General has a funded, qualified non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan which covers substantially all Legacy Media General employees hired before 2007 and non-contributory unfunded supplemental executive retirement and ERISA excess plans which supplement the coverage available to certain executives. These retirement plans are frozen. Legacy Media General also has a retiree medical savings account plan which reimburses eligible employees who retire for certain medical expenses. In addition, Legacy Media General has an unfunded plan that provides certain health and life insurance benefits to retired employees who were hired prior to 1992. The Company made a $45 million contribution to the Legacy Media General retirement plan in January 2014 (following a $5 million contribution in December 2013).

The following table provides the components of net periodic benefit cost (income) for the Company’s benefit plans for the third quarters and first nine months of 2014 and 2013:

	Three Months Ended
	Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
	September 30,			September 30,			September 30,
(In thousands)	2014			2013			2014
Service cost	$	43		$	43		$	20
Interest cost		5,530			143			269
Expected return on plan assets		(6,717	)		(156	)		-
Amortization of net loss		-			9			-
Net periodic benefit cost (income)	$	(1,144	)	$	39		$	289

	Nine Months Ended
	Pension Benefits						Other Benefits
	September 30,			September 30,			September 30,
(In thousands)	2014			2013			2014
Service cost	$	128		$	128		$	60
Interest cost		16,590			429			807
Expected return on plan assets		(20,150	)		(468	)		-
Amortization of net loss		-			27			-
Net periodic benefit cost (income)	$	(3,432	)	$	116		$	867

Defined Contribution Plans

Effective July 1, 2014, the Company amended the Company’s 401(k) and Supplemental 401(k) plans (the “Plans”) to reduce the maximum effective company matching contribution to 3% of participant compensation as defined by the plans. From January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014, all eligible and participating employees of the Company’s 401(k) and Supplemental 401(k) plans received a company match of up to a maximum of 4% of their compensation as defined by the plans.