Management Disclosure and Media Coverage

Hamid Boustanifar and Sasan Mansour

♦ We examine how management disclosure affects media coverage by analyzing firms’ responses in earnings call Q&A sessions. Using a machine-learning-based “non-answer” score, we find that evasive managerial responses reduce subsequent media attention, particularly from professional outlets generating original content. This supports a supply-driven view of media coverage: poor disclosure limits journalistic content creation. Reduced coverage, in turn, is associated with lower investor engagement and weaker stock performance. Our findings highlight the critical role of a firm’s information environment in shaping the level and nature of subsequent media coverage, with implications for broader financial market outcomes.

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