What effect does the press have?

Well, in many cases it has considerable influence. Study after study shows that press coverage will affect the way people will react to products and services and their promotion and purchase. The empirical evidence is overwhelming so I was surprised to see that, according to Professor David Larcker, of Stanford Business School, the media outrage about fat cat executive pay is falling on deaf ears.

"Say the press does hammer away on some company. The question then becomes, 'So what?'" he said.

"Most companies don't seem to care enough to substantially change their pay practices. They might shift the mix of compensation a bit - from cash payments to stock options, for example - but in terms of the total compensation, press exposure doesn't really seem to matter." Says Larcker (Pictured).

I think I would rather see more evidence about cause and effect in the 'press' and also some idea of the influence of the Internet including some of the web sites and, of course the social media.