A recent article in the New York Post isn't very forgiving of the Sirius-XM merger, dramatically (in classic Post-style) highlighting Mel Karmazin's salary and how it would be taken into account when considering the merger.

"Details of Mel's pay package couldn't have come at a worse time for Sirius and XM," said Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett.

"Their credibility is already stretched pretty thin on Capitol Hill after weeks of anti-trust grilling. This will add fuel to the argument that their merger attempt is a way to enrich management rather than listeners."

At least, that's fuel to the fire that the NAB would love to feed. The reality is that Karmazin's compensation was likely put into place in his original contract back in 2004 when he signed on to Sirius. But who needs reality when you've got drama? Check out this ridiculous quote from an NAB spokesman:

"This outlandish pay package confirms that the proposed monopoly Sirius-XM merger was crafted mainly to enrich the companies' CEOs and their close friends on Wall Street," said NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton. "The notion that consumers or small shareholders would benefit from a government-sanctioned monopoly is pure fiction."

Apples... meet Oranges.

The unfortunate thing is that regardless of how little this should affect the decision by the FCC and DOJ - Peter Lauria at the NY Post is absolutely correct... the negative attention this stirs up certainly doesn't help.

[New York Post]