Does this mean you should invest in your media relations department? Sarbanes Oxley has led to a rise in the number of outside directors on compensation and other committees. Outsiders of course are supposed to bring fresh experiences and external views of the company. But a study by Markus Fitza, a doctoral candidate at the Leeds School of Business (Univ. of Colorado), suggests that outsiders tend to believe what they read about their companies. He has found a correlation between media coverage and the amount of stock options and pay committees grant CEOs. For boards with lots of outsiders, an article about the CEO in a major business publication boosted the value of options and bonus by more than $600,000. PR folks, take note. You're valuable to the top dog!  

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- here's a summary [1]

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