Media coverage and disclosure of short-termism tone: Evidence from China

Using the frequency of short-term-oriented words scaled by the frequency of total words in Management Discussions and Analysis (MD&A) texts as the measure for disclosed short-termism tone, we find in the Chinese A-share stock market that media coverage induces covered firms to use less short-termism tone. The effect is more likely to be caused by the tone management in strategic reaction to media coverage. Furthermore, the effect is stronger for firms with poorer corporate governance quality and varies depending on firms' operating conditions. Combined, the findings imply that firms respond to media pressure strategically through short-termism tone management.