Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFITS

Pension

We sponsor several single-employer defined benefit pensions, the majority of which have been frozen; and participate in joint Company and Guild-sponsored plans covering employees of The New York Times Newspaper Guild, including The New York Times Newspaper Guild pension plan, which was frozen, and a new defined benefit pension plan, subject to the approval of the Internal Revenue Service. The components of net periodic pension (income)/cost were as follows:

	For the Quarters Ended
	March 31, 2013								March 25, 2012
(In thousands)	Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans			Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans
Service cost	$	2,323		$	256	$	2,579		$	3,007		$	377	$	3,384
Interest cost	19,756			2,679		22,435			24,187			3,165		27,352
Expected return on plan assets	(31,063		)	—		(31,063		)	(29,577		)	—		(29,577		)
Amortization of prior service (credit)/cost	(486		)	—		(486		)	201			—		201
Recognized actuarial loss	8,701			1,340		10,041			7,466			1,162		8,628
Net periodic pension (income)/cost	$	(769	)	$	4,275	$	3,506		$	5,284		$	4,704	$	9,988

In the first quarter of 2013, we made pension contributions of approximately $61 million to certain qualified pension plans. Approximately $60 million of our first-quarter 2013 contribution was made to The New York Times Newspaper Guild pension plan, of which $23 million was estimated to be necessary to satisfy minimum funding requirements in 2013. Including the first-quarter contributions, we expect to make total contributions of approximately $75 million in 2013 to our qualified pension plans.

Other Postretirement Benefits

The components of net periodic postretirement benefit income were as follows:

	For the Quarters Ended
(In thousands)	March 31, 2013			March 25, 2012
Service cost	$	285		$	239
Interest cost	1,009			1,246
Amortization of prior service credit	(3,693		)	(3,778		)
Recognized actuarial loss	1,022			832
Curtailment gain	—			(27,213		)
Net periodic postretirement benefit income	$	(1,377	)	$	(28,674	)

In the first quarter of 2012, we sold the Regional Media Group (see Note 11). The sale significantly reduced the expected years of future service for current employees, resulting in a remeasurement and curtailment of a postretirement benefit plan. We recognized a curtailment gain of $27.2 million in the first quarter of 2012. The curtailment gain is included in the gain on the sale within “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.