Headline: Governance
or
How to make a media business by watching
markets closer than anyone else
GCGF-IFC PEP SE
Media Corporate Governance Workshop
Belgrade 11-13 May 2006
Dr. Stephen Davis
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
Why Should Media Care About
Governance?
First, public policy trends build market demand.
1.
Lots more ordinary people are investing in, and
depending on, the market—so there is growing
popular interest in how companies behave
2.
As the state recedes, local and foreign companies
inherit power to affect jobs, pay, pensions, working
conditions and the environment
3.
Regulators and stock exchanges are focusing on it
4.
Foreign funds have vast new influence but are little
known—and sometimes feared as ‘locusts’
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Media Feast
Second, to be frank, there are some traditional
media reasons. Everything an editor dreams of
in a great story can be found in corporate
governance

Scandal and corruption. Blatant greed.
Riveting political power grabs. Even sex (a
Google search for sex and corporate
governance yields 573,000 entries).
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
So Governance Coverage Can Be
Good Business
Examples around the world include
 Crikey.com.au (Australia)
 Webb-site.com (Hong Kong)
 Dow Jones and ISS’s Governance Weekly (US)
 Governance (UK)
 Global Proxy Watch
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
Start Up Questions
Need to answer key questions in planning a
corporate governance publication:
 What form should it take: Online? Paper? Stand
alone or supplement? Frequency?
 Who is its audience: Corporate executives?
Investors? Auditors? Regulators?
 What is its voice: Champion? Impartial?
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
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How do you gather information?
What is the business plan for revenue:
Advertising? Paid subscriptions?
What staff resources are needed—for
marketing, sales and production
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
Case Study:
Global Proxy Watch
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Started January 1997 as adjunct to consulting
business
Launch followed months of format modeling
with a publishing expert, consultation with
potential readers, and a beta test
Began as fax distribution to core consulting
clients
Weekly frequency, two page length
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
GPW: Strategic Profile
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Identified core readers as investors worldwide
Set a voice: champion of rights; source of
specialized market intelligence; punchy tone;
unrooted to any single market from content to
spelling; avoid gossip for trend watching
Set short length for articles: earns surprisingly
frequent praise
Revenue from subscriber fees only
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GPW: Content
Created original, must-have material available
nowhere else
 Global governance calendar
 Spotlights on who’s who in the field
 Independent governance industry coverage
 Frequent hot links to source documents
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GPW: Getting the Story
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Contacts through development of field
expertise, consulting business and professional
work—capacity to trade information
Liberal use of off-record sourcing
Weekly routine includes web searches, Nexis,
master idea list, ‘what’s new’ phone calls
News now comes to GPW through tip offs and
press releases discarded by mainstream outlets
Others sources: public filings, employees
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
The Nexus of
Media and Governance

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Why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and
disseminate pernicious opinions calculated to embarrass the
government? Vladimir Ilich Lenin, Moscow 1920. Some
CEOs today feel the same protectiveness about business.
BUT…
“It is very simple. People will not invest in a company if they
think the boss is going to steal their money.” James
Wolfensohn, president, World Bank, Moscow 2004.
The challenge: If media can find ways to prosper by
keeping governance honest, an accountable economy
can thrive
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS
Davis Global Advisors, Inc.
57 Hancock Street Newton MA 02466-2308 USA
T +1 617 630 8792 +44 [0]20 8133 6828 E dga@davisglobal.com
www.davisglobal.com
DAVIS GLOBAL ADVISORS