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Persona Non Grata? Determinants and Consequences of Social Distancing from Journalists Who Engage in Negative Coverage of Firm Leadership

    Published Online:2 Apr 2015https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.1162

    Abstract

    We consider how social and psychological connections among CEOs explain the propensity for corporate leaders to distance themselves socially from journalists who engage in negative reporting about firm leadership at other companies, and we examine the consequences for the valence of journalists’ subsequent coverage. Our theoretical framework suggests that journalists who have engaged in negative coverage of a firm’s leadership and strategy are especially likely to experience distancing from other leaders who (a) have friendship ties to the firm’s CEO, (b) are demographically similar to the CEO on salient dimensions, or (c) are socially identified with the CEO as a fellow member of the corporate elite. Our theory and findings ultimately suggest that, due to the multiple sources of social identification between CEOs, journalists who engage in negative coverage of firm leadership tend to experience social distancing from multiple CEOs, and that such distancing has a powerful influence on the valence of journalists’ subsequent reporting about firm leadership and strategy across all the firms they cover. We also extend our theoretical framework to suggest how the effect of social distancing on the valence of journalists’ coverage is moderated by the early and late stages of the journalists’ career.

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