Investments and other assets

Our investments and other assets consisted of the following as of September 30, 2017, and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):



	Sept. 30, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016
			(recast)
Cash value life insurance	$	60,873	$	64,134
Deferred compensation investments	28,593		23,715
Equity method investments	35,599		18,016
Available for sale investment	—		16,744
Deferred debt issuance cost	7,008		9,856
Other long term assets	41,146		48,151
Total	$	173,219	$	180,616

Deferred compensation investments: Employee compensation-related investments consist of debt and equity securities which are classified as trading securities and fund our deferred compensation plan liabilities.

Equity method investments: Investments over which we have the ability to exercise significant influence but do not control, are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Significant influence typically exists when we own between 20% and 50% of the voting interests in a corporation, own more than a minimal investment in a limited liability company, or hold substantial management rights in the investee. Under this method of accounting, our share of the net earnings or losses of the investee is included in non-operating income on our Consolidated Statements of Income. We evaluate our equity method investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of such investments may be impaired. If a decline in the value of an equity method investment is determined to be other than temporary, a loss equal to the excess of carrying value over fair value is recorded in earnings in the current period. Certain differences exist between our investment carrying value and the underlying equity of the investee companies, principally due to fair value measurement at the date of investment acquisition and due to impairment charges we recorded for certain investments. As part of the agreement to sell the majority of CareerBuilder, we retained an investment of approximately 17% (or approximately 12% on a fully-diluted basis) in the entity. Our ownership stake provides us with two seats on CareerBuilder’s board of directors and thus we concluded that we have significant influence over the entity and have classified our investment as an equity method investment. In the third quarter of 2017, we recorded $0.5 million of equity earnings from our CareerBuilder investment.

On October 18, 2017, we closed on the sale of our equity investment in Livestream, a business specializing in live video streaming. Our share of the sale proceeds was $21.4 million.

Available for sale investment: Our investment in Gannett Co., Inc., common stock, was sold in its entirety during the third quarter of 2017. Proceeds from the sale were $14.6 million and for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2017 we recorded losses of $0.4 million and $3.9 million, respectively. These losses are reflected in the Other non-operating items, in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income.

Other long term assets: During the second quarter of 2017, we recognized a $5.8 million loss associated with a write-off of a note receivable from one of our equity method investments. This loss is reflected in Other non-operating items, in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income. The loss was a result of a decision made during the second quarter of 2017 by the investee’s board of directors to discontinue the business, and the investee not having sufficient funds to repay the full note at that time.

Cost method investments: The carrying value of cost method investments was $15.3 million as of September 30, 2017 and $14.8 million as of December 31, 2016, and is included within other long term assets in the table above.