Headline: Governance or How to make a media business by watching markets closer than anyone else

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Headline GovernanceorHow 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

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Why Should Media Care About Governance?

• First, public policy trends build market demand.
• Lots more ordinary people are investing in, and
  depending on, the marketso there is growing
  popular interest in how companies behave
• As the state recedes, local and foreign companies
  inherit power to affect jobs, pay, pensions,
  working conditions and the environment
• Regulators and stock exchanges are focusing on it
• Foreign funds have vast new influence but are
  little knownand 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).

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So Governance Coverage Can Be Good Business

• Examples around the world include
• Crikey.com.au (Australia)
• Webb-site.com (Hong Kong)
• Dow Jones and ISSs Governance Weekly (US)
• Governance (UK)
• Global Proxy Watch

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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?

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• How do you gather information?
• What is the business plan for revenue
  Advertising? Paid subscriptions?
• What staff resources are neededfor marketing,
  sales and production

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Case StudyGlobal Proxy Watch

• 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

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GPW Strategic Profile

• 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 whos who in the field
• Independent governance industry coverage
• Frequent hot links to source documents

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GPW Getting the Story

• Contacts through development of field expertise,
  consulting business and professional
  workcapacity to trade information
• Liberal use of off-record sourcing
• Weekly routine includes web searches, Nexis,
  master idea list, whats new phone calls
• News now comes to GPW through tip offs and press
  releases discarded by mainstream outlets
• Others sources public filings, employees

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The Nexus of Media and Governance

• 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

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• Davis Global Advisors, Inc.
• 57 Hancock Street Newton MA 02466-2308 USA
• T 1 617 630 8792 44 020 8133 6828 E
  dga_at_davisglobal.com www.davisglobal.com