The company’s shares finished Thursday’s trading at 84 cents per share, and its finances have been a bit shaky across the first half of this decade. For Salem Media Group, company executives remain confident that its mix of Christian-themed and secular conservative spoken word content will bring ad dollars and listeners alike.
To keep cash in the coffers, its co-founder and executive chairman is agreeing to accept stock in Salem rather than greenbacks as a form of 2025 compensation.
In a late Thursday announcement, Salem confirmed that Ed Atsinger III is agreeing to receive the remaining portion of the dollars he’s earning this year in the form of Restricted Class A Common Stock, rather than cash. “This decision reflects Atsinger’s continued commitment to the long-term success and stability of the company.”
As such, Atsinger has been awarded 218,067 shares in the OTC-traded “SALM,” and this represents the cash compensation amount due for the period between September 21, 2025, and December 31, 2025, totaling $168,500.
The stock compensation will vest 12 months from the grant date and will not be subject to any other vesting restrictions.
This comes after Atsinger in January was granted 400,000 restricted Class A common stock in Salem.
Under Salem’s stock incentive plan, unvested shares typically terminate upon an employee’s separation. “However, in acknowledgment of Mr. Atsinger’s decades of leadership and enduring contributions, the Board has waived the forfeiture provision to allow his Stock Compensation and Stock Bonus to remain in effect after December 31, 2025,” the company said.
The existing time and performance-based vesting schedule for the Stock Bonus will remain unchanged.
