Corporate Consciousness

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the scope and limits of media impact on corporate governance (CG) in India and how the mass media can be upgraded and incorporated in the ensuing CG reform agenda. Extant and premier literature on the impact of media on corporate governance is reviewed. The review reveals that research on the impact of media on corporate governance is basically done in the context of Western media and democracy. There is no attempt to gauge the influence of media reports on corporate governance in India, although the largest democracy of the world has experienced the biggest scandals of unethical governance in the last two decades. The article brings together the problems peculiar to the Indian situation indicating mass media’s scope for having some impact on corporate ethics, regulators’ responsibility and public opinion in India. A pioneering effort to study the role of media in addressing corporate governance issues and abuses in India, the article pleads for legal and institutional reforms fostering better flow of information and transparency.