Pilot publisher up for HUD post discloses earnings

Maurice Jones, the publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, received $725,570 in salary and bonuses during a 21-month period in 2010 and 2011, according to a federal disclosure form connected with his nomination for a position in President Barack Obama's administration.

Obama nominated Jones in September as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee backed Jones in a unanimous voice vote in mid-December. Jones' only remaining hurdle is approval from the Senate, which will reconvene next week after its winter break.

Details of Jones' financial disclosure form were highlighted in an article Thursday in The Washington Times. Jones, publisher of The Pilot since April 2008, said he could not comment because the housing department requests that nominees not speak with the media before they are confirmed.

In the form, Jones, 47, listed his salary from Jan. 1, 2010, through Oct. 4, 2011, as $462,500. He also received bonuses totaling $263,070. His salary and bonuses combined averaged to about $34,550 a month, or nearly $415,000 a year.

For Southern newspapers with circulations between 100,001 and 240,000, the average compensation for a publisher, including bonuses, was $464,602 last year, according to a survey by the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. The Pilot had Sunday circulation of 176,054 as of September.

Jones' boss, Mike Abernathy, president of Landmark Publishing in Shelbyville, Ky., said: "He's paid in the same range of other people in the industry with the same level of responsibility."

Jones has said The Pilot remains profitable, though he has declined to provide figures, and has a bright future. However, Pilot Media, which includes The Pilot and other businesses, eliminated more than 50 jobs last year, primarily through layoffs and early retirement offers. Its workforce is now under 870. Like many newspapers, the media company also had layoffs in 2008 and 2009.

Sean Oblack, a spokesman for the Senate Banking Committee, predicted Thursday that Jones would be confirmed by the Senate shortly after it returns from recess.

"Throughout the nomination process," Oblack said in an email, "Mr. Jones has proven to be well-qualified to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development."

Kevin Hall, spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, said Thursday the senator "remains a strong supporter" of Jones' appointment. Jones served as deputy chief of staff when Warner was governor of Virginia and as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Senate votes on Jones and several administration appointees have been stalled in a political fight between Obama and Senate Republicans, who objected to the president's decision Jan. 4 to appoint Richard Cordray as the head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without waiting for Senate confirmation.

The White House has said Cordray's appointment was legal because the Senate was in recess, but GOP senators argue the chamber was technically never in recess.

Jones' disclosure form listed assets including $500,001 to $1 million in holdings in Landmark Media Enterprises, which owns The Pilot. Jones reported $150,000 in income from his equity investment in Landmark during that period.

Philip Walzer, 757-222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com

Bill Bartel, 757-446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com