Privately controlled, publicly owned media companies including Viacom and Cablevision Systems have been put under increased scrutiny during the stock market meltdown, Dow Jones says. Public shareholders increasingly view media moguls’ family relationships and resistance to change as a barrier to stock performance. “Conflicts of interest aren’t felt during good times,” said Nell Minow with the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm. “But they can be felt strongly in bad times.” An exception is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., says Dow Jones, owned by News Corp.
— Jon Lafayette