Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 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
	June 30, 2013								June 24, 2012
(In thousands)	Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans			Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans
Service cost	$	2,323		$	256	$	2,579		$	2,894		$	377	$	3,271
Interest cost	19,284			2,643		21,927			23,592			3,122		26,714
Expected return on plan assets	(31,063		)	—		(31,063		)	(29,614		)	—		(29,614		)
Amortization of prior service (credit)/cost	(486		)	—		(486		)	201			—		201
Recognized actuarial loss	8,442			1,312		9,754			7,229			1,122		8,351
Net periodic pension (income)/cost	$	(1,500	)	$	4,211	$	2,711		$	4,302		$	4,621	$	8,923

	For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2013								June 24, 2012
(In thousands)	Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans			Qualified Plans			Non- Qualified Plans		All Plans
Service cost	$	4,645		$	512	$	5,157		$	5,901		$	754	$	6,655
Interest cost	38,568			5,286		43,854			47,241			6,244		53,485
Expected return on plan assets	(62,125		)	—		(62,125		)	(59,191		)	—		(59,191		)
Amortization of prior service (credit)/cost	(972		)	—		(972		)	402			—		402
Recognized actuarial loss	16,884			2,623		19,507			14,452			2,245		16,697
Net periodic pension (income)/cost	$	(3,000	)	$	8,421	$	5,421		$	8,805		$	9,243	$	18,048

In the first six months of 2013, we made pension contributions of approximately $68 million to certain qualified pension plans. Approximately $65 million of our year-to-date 2013 contributions was made to The New York Times Newspaper Guild pension plan, of which $28 million was estimated to be necessary to satisfy minimum funding requirements in 2013 or contractually required. Including the first six months of contributions, we expect to make total contributions of approximately $75 million in 2013 to our qualified pension plans.

See Note 3 for additional information regarding pension-related prior period adjustments.

Other Postretirement Benefits

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

	For the Quarters Ended						For the Six Months Ended
(In thousands)	June 30, 2013			June 24, 2012			June 30, 2013			June 24, 2012
Service cost	$	285		$	239		$	570		$	478
Interest cost	1,009			1,246			2,018			2,492
Amortization of prior service credit	(3,693		)	(3,778		)	(7,385		)	(7,556		)
Recognized actuarial loss	1,022			832			2,044			1,664
Curtailment gain	—			—			—			(27,213		)
Net periodic postretirement benefit income	$	(1,377	)	$	(1,461	)	$	(2,753	)	$	(30,135	)

In the first quarter of 2012, we sold the Regional Media Group (see Note 12). 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.