Foreign and domestic US policies: Spectrum reservations and media balance

This article examines the US opposition to a priori planning of the HF and space satellite spectrum, and ‘orbital slots’. This opposition is then contrasted with the rationale of domestic pre-engineered allocation and allotment plans for television and FM radio. The article then contrasts the US animus towards Third World calls for a ‘balanced’ information flow with the longstanding US commitment to fairness, balance, equal access and diversity. The author suggest that the operation of a foreign-domestic double standard could damage US credibility.     

Making a difference — how environmental economists can influence the policy process — a case study of David W Pearce

Can environmental economists influence policy? If so, how? This paper addresses these two questions using the late David Pearce’s career as a case study. Influence can be exercised, but Pearce’s career shows that certain conditions must be met. The first is desire: he wanted to influence policy, and directed a high proportion of his efforts to doing so. He focused particular attention on the power centres of his time — the OECD, World Bank, European Commission, UN, UK government; his influence was aided by his status and location as a professor in a prestige university (UCL) in a major global city (London). His messages were consistent and clear: theory is important, and can be used to frame most environmental challenges as regards both explanation and solution; externalities can be valued; assessing benefits and costs of options is important; market signals (taxes etc) and incentives generally are powerful shapers of behaviour; stock of capital (human, built, natural) is a key measure of sustainability. He communicated simply and clearly, in words and phrases that Ministers for Finance and journalists could understand. All of the broadsheet newspapers in England (Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Times) were grist to Pearce’s mill of advocacy for environmental economics. He provided the Blueprint books that could be read on a commute and summaries to the media that they could fit into a 1,000 word piece. He didn’t seek out, but neither did he shirk controversy. He worked with various interest groups and politicians, but never to the point were he was co-opted. He initiated and directed the MSc in Environmental and Resource Economics that created an ever-widening and influential pool of advocates for his ideas. Finally, he achieved a prodigious academic output that ensures a sort of immortality, and provided the intellectual ballast the enabled his policy influence.     

The effect of intermediary coverage on disclosure: Evidence from a randomized field experiment

Intermediaries play a significant role in capital markets by reducing disclosure processing costs to market participants. Yet, due to selection and other empirical challenges, the extent and mechanisms through which intermediaries influence firm disclosure are largely unknown. To address these challenges, I conduct a field experiment that randomizes coverage of a mandatory disclosure by two key intermediaries—non-governmental organizations and the media. I show that this coverage causes noncompliant firms to publish the disclosure and firms with low-quality disclosures to improve their existing disclosures. Surprisingly, new disclosures from previously noncompliant firms are on average low quality. Survey evidence and cross-sectional tests suggest the main effect may be driven by firms perceiving pressure from the regulator, whose processing costs may have been reduced. My results yield causal estimates of the effect of intermediary coverage on disclosure and shed light on the nature of the stakeholders that subsequently exert costs on firms.     

Insight into everyday media use with multiple screens

ABSTRACT

Multiscreening has been shown to affect consumers' brand attitudes and their memory of advertisements. However, little is known about the prevalence of using multiple screens simultaneously. The aim of this study is to provide insight into multiscreening by examining its prevalence, the composition of screens, and who is likely to multiscreen. A diary study with a representative sample of the Dutch population (n = 2,399) was conducted. First, the results showed that almost 60% of the participants multiscreened at least once. They multiscreened on average three days a week, mostly on Sundays, and on average more than 80 minutes per day. Second, the most prevalent screen combinations were TV-smartphone, TV-laptop, and TV-tablet. Third, multiscreeners were on average 41 years old, predominantly female, have a higher than average education, and own on average more than four screens. Finally, it was found that, in general, younger participants multiscreened longer than older participants.     

中国传媒集团化发展的制度依赖

中国传媒集团化作为中国传媒产业制度变迁的必然发展阶段,发展10多年来取得了可喜的成就,但也出现了传媒改革未达到预期的客观现实。而未建立现代企业的产权制度及"事业单位企业化管理"的二元运作机制、政府规制等方面的限制成为中国传媒集团化发展的最大制度障碍。通过应用制度变迁相关理论的剖析,提出媒介融合、体制创新是中国传媒未来发展的方向,是集团化发展的高级阶段。     

媒体监督与会计稳健性——来自中国证券市场的经验证据

以新闻传播学的“议程设置”理论和新闻心理学的“图式”理论为基础,从媒体报道和媒介环境发展层面考察媒体监督对会计稳健性的影响。结果发现,随着媒体对上市公司的正面报道越多,其会计稳健性会降低,但稳健性的降低并不显著;而媒体对上市公司的负面报道水平及媒介环境发展程度与会计稳健性均呈正相关。     

刍议自媒体时代的政府危机公关

当前,我国正处于社会转型期,随着各项改革的持续推进,各种社会矛盾日益凸显,由此引发的公共危机频发,在自媒体环境下,政府要想成功应对危机,提高美誉度,就必须加强自身的危机公关能力建设。文章对自媒体环境下的传播特点进行了梳理,分析了政府危机公关在自媒体环境下存在的问题,并提出建立健全危机应对体制、调整观念、公开信息、提高自媒体运用能力和网络舆情处理能力、掌握沟通技巧、监督和引导意见领袖等建议。     

Newspaper reports of food safety scandals: evidence from an online take-out application in China

This article provides empirical evidence that marketization or deregulation of newspapers might help improve timely media supervision. Newspaper reports of the food safety scandal of an online take-out application ‘Eleme’ were here used to analyse heterogeneity between the attitudes of politically controlled party newspapers and marketized independent newspapers. OLS regression results indicate that, before official exposure of Eleme’s food safety scandal on World Consumer Rights Day, local independent newspapers showed more supervision and concern about the local potential food safety scandal. However, the government newspapers only followed up after official exposure, and presented attitudes similar to those expressed in marketized newspapers.     

Anti-bribery disclosures: A response to networked governance

This study examined the posited link between networked governance (the activities of NGOs and the media) and the anti-bribery disclosures of two global telecommunication companies. Based on a joint consideration of legitimacy theory, media agenda setting theory and responsive regulation, the findings show that anti-bribery disclosures are positively associated with the activities of the media and NGO initiatives. The findings also show that companies make anti-bribery disclosures to maintain symbolic legitimacy but are less prominent in effecting a substantive change in their accountability practices.     

The value of diffusing information

How does the speed by which information diffuses affect its value to a stock market investor? In a structural model solved in closed-form, this speed has two opposing effects on the empirically dominant term of the value of information. Faster-diffusing information means quicker and less noisy profits, but, also increases competing informed trading, impounding more information into prices and eroding profits. Structural empirical analysis of stock market reaction to drug approvals using media coverage as a proxy for the transmission rate of information finds that the value of information is hump-shaped in its future transmission rate. Moreover, the estimated amount of noise trading is small.