News Pressure, Public Image, and Firm Stock Market Value

This paper examines the link between the intensity of news coverage, the news pressure, and stock market outcomes in the event of major corporate news announcements. Our first result is that stock market activity is related to the implications for the public of corporate news announcements, as measured by the intensity of news coverage. Our second result is that, since the 1990s, the news pressure mitigates the stock market response to corporate news announcements. This latter result is potentially due to the rise of information technologies during this period.