Accounting Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
4-2008
Publication Source
Journal of Financial Economics
Volume
88
Issue
1
Start Page
1
Last Page
25
DOI
10.1016/j.jfineco.2007.05.001
Abstract
We examine the press’ role in monitoring and influencing executive compensation practice using more than 11,000 press articles about CEO compensation from 1994 to 2002. Negative press coverage is more strongly related to excess annual pay than to raw annual pay, suggesting a sophisticated approach by the media in selecting CEOs to cover. However, negative coverage is also greater for CEOs with more option exercises, suggesting the press engages in some degree of “sensationalism.” We find little evidence that firms respond to negative press coverage by decreasing excess CEO compensation or increasing CEO turnover.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2008. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords
press, media, executive compensation, corporate governance
Recommended Citation
Core, J. E., Guay, W. R., & Larcker, D. F. (2008). The Power of the Pen and Executive Compensation. Journal of Financial Economics, 88 (1), 1-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2007.05.001
Included in
Accounting Commons, Business and Corporate Communications Commons, Corporate Finance Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.