Director Stock Plan.pdf

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MEREDITH CORPORATION 
STOCK PLAN FOR NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTORS 
 
1. Purpose.  This Plan, the Meredith Corporation Stock Plan for Non-Employee 
Directors (the "Plan"), results from the merger of the Company's 1993 Stock Option Plan for 
Non-Employee Directors, as amended (the “Option Plan”) into the Company's 1990 
Restricted Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended (the “Restricted Stock Plan”). 
The purpose of the Plan is to aid Meredith Corporation (the “Company”) in attracting and 
retaining non-employee directors by encouraging and enabling the acquisition of a financial 
interest in the Company by such directors through the issuance of restricted shares of 
Common Stock of the Company, stock equivalents and stock options and by providing such 
directors a stake in the growth and profitability of the Company, in order to enable them to 
represent the viewpoint of other shareholders of the Company more effectively.  Participation 
in this Plan is limited to non-employee directors of the Company.  For purposes of the Plan, a 
non-employee director is any person who is a member of the Board of Directors of the 
Company (the “Board”) and who is not a full-time employee of the Company or any of its 
subsidiaries. 
2. Stock Reserved Under Plan.  There is hereby reserved for issuance under the Plan 
an aggregate of 361,185 shares of Common Stock of the Company equal to the number of 
shares remaining available for issuance under the Option Plan and the Restricted Stock Plan.  
However, the Option Plan shares may be issued only in connection with the exercise of stock 
options and may not be used for the award of restricted shares or stock equivalents.  Shares 
transferred under the Plan may be either authorized but unissued shares or issued but not 
outstanding shares.  If any shares issued hereunder or under the Option Plan are thereafter 
acquired by the Company pursuant to rights reserved by the Company at the time of transfer 
as hereinafter described, such shares shall be added back to the number of shares reserved for 
issuance under the Plan.  If there is a lapse, expiration, termination or cancellation of any 
option granted hereunder or under the Option Plan, all unissued shares subject to such option 
may again be used for new awards under this Plan. 
3. Initial Restricted Stock Awards.  Any person who becomes a non-employee 
director shall receive 1,200 shares of either restricted stock or stock equivalents, as the non-
 
 
 
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employee director may elect in writing on or before his or her first day of service as a member 
of the Board.  The number of shares may be changed from time to time by the Board of 
Directors without amendment of the Plan. 
4. Election to Receive Annual Retainer in Shares of Restricted Stock or Stock 
Equivalents.  Each non-employee director may make an irrevocable election to receive all or 
50% of his or her annual retainer (which shall include any additional retainer paid to a 
committee chairperson) in shares of restricted stock or stock equivalents.  An election 
pursuant to this paragraph 4 must be made in writing before the first day of the non-employee 
director’s annual retainer period and will entitle the non-employee director to a number of 
shares of restricted stock (or stock equivalents) determined by dividing 105% of the portion of 
the retainer for the year for which the election is being made by the fair market value of one 
share of the Company’s Common Stock as of the first day of such annual retainer period and 
rounded up to the next full number of shares.  In the event any person becomes a non-
employee director other than at the beginning of an annual retainer period, such person may 
make an election, before the date on which such person becomes a non-employee director, to 
receive all or 50% of his retainer for the balance of such annual retainer period in shares of 
restricted stock or stock equivalents determined in accordance with the formula set forth in 
the preceding sentence and rounded up to the next full number of shares. 
For purposes of this paragraph 4, an annual retainer period shall begin on the 
date of an annual meeting of the shareholders of the Company. 
5. Restricted Stock.  Shares of restricted stock issued under the Plan shall be subject 
to the following terms and conditions unless otherwise provided by the Board of Directors: 
(a) If, within five years from the date the restricted shares were issued, the 
non-employee director’s service on the Board is terminated for any reason other than 
death, permanent disability or retirement, the shares of restricted stock issued under 
the Plan shall be repurchased by the Company (“Forfeiture Restriction”) at a per share 
price equal to the lesser of (i) the amount paid, if any, by the non-employee director 
for such restricted shares or (ii) the fair market value of such shares on the date the 
 
 
 
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non-employee director’s service on the Board is terminated.  The purchase price shall 
be paid in cash to the director within five days after termination of service.  The 
amount paid for restricted shares issued as a result of an election pursuant to paragraph 
4 of this Plan shall be deemed to be the non-employee director’s retainer for the 
annual retainer period for which such election was made.  For purposes of this Plan, 
retirement means the non-employee director’s retirement from the Board at the end of 
the full term for which the non-employee director was elected, retirement from the 
Board at any time at or after age 70, or retirement at any time with the consent of the 
Board. 
(b) Restricted shares shall be free of the Forfeiture Restriction upon the 
expiration of a five-year period from the date of issuance or earlier upon the death, 
permanent disability or retirement of the non-employee director or the occurrence of a 
Change of Control of the Company as defined below. 
(c) Shares of restricted stock issued under the Plan shall not be transferable 
and may not be sold, exchanged, transferred, pledged, hypothecated or otherwise 
disposed of at any time prior to the expiration of the Forfeiture Restriction with 
respect to such shares of restricted stock.  The Board of Directors may permit the 
transfer of restricted stock by a non-employee director solely to members of the non-
employee director’s immediate family or trusts or family partnerships for the benefit 
of such persons but any transferred shares of restricted stock shall continue to be 
subject to the Forfeiture Restriction provided for herein. 
(d) A non-employee director who receives shares of restricted stock under the 
Plan shall have all of the rights of a shareholder with respect to such stock, including 
the right to receive dividends or other distributions in respect of such stock, and to 
vote such stock as the record owner thereof, unless and until the director (or a 
permitted transferee) ceases to be the record owner of such stock. 
(e) The shares of restricted stock received under the Plan shall be registered on 
the books of the Company and its transfer agent in the name of the non-employee 
 
 
 
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director.  Certificates evidencing the stock received under the Plan shall be issued in 
the name of and delivered to the non-employee director upon the lapse of the 
Forfeiture Restriction with respect to such shares. 
(f) Shares of restricted stock subject to the Plan may be subject to such other 
provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as the Board of Directors 
shall consider appropriate from time to time, including such provisions as may be 
appropriate to comply with federal and state securities laws and stock exchange 
requirements. 
(g) Each non-employee director may elect to convert any or all shares of 
restricted stock held under the Plan into an equal number of stock equivalents.  Any 
such election must be made in writing at least sixty (60) days before retirement from 
service on the Board of Directors of the company and at least sixty (60) days before 
the date of expiration of the five (5) year period of restriction.  If the election is made 
while the shares are ex-dividend and the conversion occurs before the date on which 
the dividend is paid, then the stock equivalents credited with respect to the restricted 
shares shall not be adjusted for the pending cash dividend under Section 6(a) hereof. 
6. Stock Equivalents.  The number of stock equivalents determined under paragraphs 
3 and  4 hereunder for each non-employee director shall be credited to a bookkeeping account 
established in the name of that director subject to the following terms and conditions: 
(a) If the Company pays a cash dividend with respect to the Common Stock at 
any time while stock equivalents are credited to a non-employee director’s account, 
there shall be credited to the non-employee director’s account additional stock 
equivalents equal to (i) the cash dividend the director would have received had he or 
she been the actual owner of the stock equivalents then credited to the director’s 
account, divided by (ii) the fair market value of one share of the Company’s Common 
Stock on the dividend payment date. 
 
 
 
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(b) Upon the death, permanent disability, retirement or other termination of the 
non-employee director’s service on the Board, or a deferred time schedule involving 
such other date or dates (which shall be on the first business day of a calendar year) 
that the Board, upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, shall 
determine pursuant to resolution (provided that such time schedule shall not be greater 
than three years), the Company shall deliver to the non-employee director (or his or 
her designated beneficiary or estate) a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 
the whole number or portion thereof, and/or an equivalent annual portion of Common 
Stock allocated over a deferred period, of stock equivalents then credited to the 
director’s account together with a cash payment equal to the fair market value of any 
fractional stock equivalent. 
(c) The Company’s obligation with respect to stock equivalents shall not be 
funded or secured in any manner, nor shall a participant’s right to receive payment be 
assignable or transferable, voluntarily or involuntarily, except as expressly provided 
herein. 
(d) A non-employee director shall not be entitled to any voting or other 
shareholder rights as a result of the credit of stock equivalents to the director’s account 
until certificates representing shares of Common Stock are delivered to the director (or 
his or her designated beneficiary or estate) hereunder. 
7. Options. 
(a) Each non-employee director shall automatically be granted an option to 
purchase 6,000 shares of Common Stock or such other amount as may be determined 
from time to time by the Board of Directors, subject to the limitations set forth below 
and at an exercise price determined in accordance with Section 8 below, on the first 
business day following the date of each annual meeting of shareholders of the 
Company held during the term of this Plan, provided the non-employee director is 
serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company on the date of grant. 
 
 
 
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(b) Each option granted under this Plan shall be exercisable at an option price 
equal to the fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock on the date of grant. 
(c) Any option granted under this Plan may be exercised in whole or in part, 
from time to time after the date granted, subject to the following limitations unless 
otherwise provided by the Board of Directors: 
(i) 
No option granted hereunder may be exercised during the first 
year following the date such option was granted.  Thereafter each option may 
be exercised: 
(A) on or after the first anniversary of the date the option was 
granted, for up to two thousand (2,000) shares; 
(B) on or after the second anniversary of the date the option was 
granted, for an additional two thousand (2,000) shares (up to four 
thousand (4,000) shares on a cumulative basis); and 
(C) on or after the third anniversary of the date the option was 
granted, for all six thousand (6,000) shares covered by the option. 
(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations, any option granted 
under this Plan shall become fully exercisable for the total number of shares 
covered by the option upon the death or permanent disability of the director 
while serving on the Board or upon the retirement  of the director if such death, 
permanent disability or retirement occurs on or after the first anniversary of the 
date such option was issued. 
(iii) Any option granted under this Plan (or any unexercised portion 
thereof) may be exercised: 
(A) not more than 30 days after termination of any non-
employee director’s service as a member of the Board of Directors of 
the Company for any reason other than death, permanent disability or 
 
 
 
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retirement (and then only to the extent that the non-employee director 
could have exercised such option on the date service terminated); or 
(B) for the remainder of the option term after a non-employee 
director’s death, permanent disability or retirement from the Board of 
Directors of the Company; but 
(C) not, in any event, more than ten years after the date the 
option was granted. 
(iv) Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations, any option granted 
under this Plan shall become fully exercisable for the total number of shares 
covered by the option upon the occurrence of a Change of Control of the 
Company. 
(v) Any option granted under this Plan may only be exercised to 
purchase a minimum of 100 shares at any one time.  Any option granted under 
this Plan shall be deemed exercised on the date written notice of exercise of all 
or part of such option is received by the Secretary of the Company at the 
Company’s corporate headquarters.  Such notice shall be either: (i) 
accompanied by a check payable to the order of the Company for the full 
purchase price of the shares to be purchased pursuant to the terms of the 
option, or the portion thereof so paid; or (ii) followed by prompt remittance of 
certificates representing shares of Common Stock (or certification of 
ownership of such shares), either duly endorsed in blank or accompanied by a 
duly endorsed stock power, representing a sufficient number of shares of 
Common Stock whose value, based on the fair market value of the Common 
Stock on the date of exercise, equals the full purchase price of the shares to be 
purchased, or the portion thereof so paid; or (iii) any combination of the 
foregoing.  Payment may also be made by delivering a copy of irrevocable 
instructions to a broker to deliver promptly to the Company the amount of sale 
or loan proceeds to pay the exercise price.  A non-employee director shall have 
 
 
 
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no interest in any shares covered by any option granted under this Plan until 
certificates for such shares are issued and any shares surrendered in payment 
shall be deemed outstanding until new certificates representing the shares 
purchased on the exercise of any option are issued. 
(vi) Any option granted under this Plan shall not be transferable 
other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and shall be 
exercisable, during the non-employee director’s lifetime, only by the director 
or the director’s guardian or legal representative.  If a non-employee director 
dies during the option period, any option granted to such director may be 
exercised by his estate or the person to whom the option passes by will or the 
laws of descent and distribution.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, an option 
may be transferable to the non-employee director’s immediate family or trusts 
or family partnerships for the benefit of such persons. 
(vii) The grant of any option under the Plan may also be subject to 
other provisions as the Board of Directors deems appropriate, including, 
without limitation, provisions imposing restrictions on resale or other 
disposition of the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any option and 
such provisions as may be appropriate to comply with federal or state 
securities laws and stock exchange requirements. 
8. Fair Market Value.  The fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock at any 
time shall be determined in such a manner as the Committee may deem appropriate, or as 
required by applicable law or regulation. 
9. Change of Control.  For purposes hereof, a “Change of Control” of the Company 
shall be deemed to have occurred on the first to occur of any of the following dates: 
(a)  on the date the Board of Directors of the Company votes to approve and 
recommends a shareholder vote to approve: 
 
 
 
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(i) 
any consolidation or merger of the Company in which the 
Company is not the continuing or surviving corporation or pursuant to which 
shares of the Common Stock and Class B Stock would be converted into cash, 
securities or other property, other than any consolidation or merger of the 
Company in which the holders of the Common Stock and Class B Stock 
immediately prior to the consolidation or merger have at least a majority of the 
ownership in and voting power of the surviving corporation immediately after 
the consolidation or merger; or 
(ii) 
any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer (in one transaction or 
a series of related transactions) of all, or substantially all, of the assets of the 
Company; or 
(iii) 
any plan or proposal for the liquidation or dissolution of the 
Company; or 
(d) on the date any person (as such term is used in Section 13(d) of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, hereinafter the “1934 Act”), other than the 
Company’s Savings and Investment Plan or similar successor plan, shall become the 
beneficial owner (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the 1934 Act) of thirty 
percent (30%) or more of the outstanding voting power of the Company except as a 
result of actions beyond the control of such person, including, without limitation, as a 
result of a shift in voting power of the Company as a result of the conversion by other 
persons of their Class B Stock into Common Stock; or 
(e) on the date, during any period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months on 
which individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the entire Board of 
Directors of the Company shall cease for any reason to constitute a majority thereof 
unless the election of each new director comprising the majority was approved by a 
vote of at least a 2/3 majority of the directors still in office who were directors at the 
beginning of the period. 
 
 
 
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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no Change in Control shall be 
deemed to have occurred for the purpose of this Plan by virtue of any combination or 
agreement among shareholders of the Company who are descendants of E.T. Meredith, the 
founder of the Company, or trusts for the benefit of such persons. 
8. Adjustments.  If there is any change in the Company’s Common Stock by means 
of a stock dividend or distribution, stock split, recapitalization, combination or exchange of 
shares, or by means of any merger, consolidation or other corporate reorganization in which 
the Company is the surviving corporation, the number of shares of stock thereafter available 
for issuance under the Plan, the number of shares to be subject to each future award, the 
number of stock equivalents, the number of options to be granted, the limitations on exercise 
of options, and the number of shares covered by each outstanding option shall be 
automatically adjusted on the same basis to give proper effect to such change.  If, during the 
term of any option granted under this Plan, the Common Stock shall be changed into another 
kind of stock or into securities of another corporation, whether as a result of reorganization, 
sale, merger, consolidation, or other similar transaction, the Board of the Directors shall cause 
adequate provision to be made whereby the non-employee directors shall thereafter be entitled 
to receive, upon the due exercise of any outstanding option, the securities the directors would 
have been entitled to receive immediately prior to the effective date of any such transaction 
for shares of Common Stock not theretofore purchased which could have been exercised 
through the exercise of such options.  The terms and conditions of this Plan shall also be 
applicable to the shares issued to a non-employer director as a result of a stock dividend, stock 
split, recapitalization, etc. with respect to any restricted shares. 
9. Amendment or Termination.  The Board shall have the power to terminate the Plan 
at any time and to amend the Plan from time to time as it may deem proper; provided, 
however, that no such termination or amendment shall adversely affect any outstanding 
restricted stock, stock equivalents or stock options.  No amendment shall be made without 
shareholder approval if such amendment materially increases the number of shares of 
Common Stock reserved under the Plan or, if such approval is required by law, regulation or 
stock exchange rule. 
 
 
 
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10. 
Term of Plan.  The Plan will have no specific term and shall expire only when 
all of the shares reserved hereunder are used. 
11. 
Shareholder Approval.  The Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors on 
November 11, 2002 and is not subject to shareholder approval because all shares reserved 
hereunder come from previously shareholder-approved plans. 
CHI99 3935495-5.025955.0011