Infamous top executives in printed media; how the media constructs media celebrities
Moritz Philipp Günther

The larger-than-life superhero depiction of GE’s Jack Welch, the evil demise of Enron at the hands of CEO Jeffrey Skilling and the unending adventures of the rebel billionaire and business person Sir Richard Branson catch the headlines of business news in print, online, radio and television globally. Ever wondered why some CEOs are more famous or infamous than others? Just recently an increasing number of researchers in the field of strategic management have inquired into why, how, and to what effect media constructs CEO celebrities. While most have focused on rankings of ‘the best CEO’ and the effects of such rankings on the CEOs’ pay and performance, commerce student Moritz Günther looks at the construction of infamous top executives in printed media. In his honours research under Dr. Gina Grandy’s supervision, Moritz examines the themes, terms, and phrases journalists have employed to construct present day infamous top executive celebrities such as Citigroup’s Charles Prince and Sears’ chairman Edward Lampert. Moritz, himself a contributor and last year’s managing editor of Mount Allison’s student newspaper, explains that “journalists often try to explain corporate performance to large audiences without having to delve into the complex interrelations of various factors of today’s business world. This leads them to over-attribute an organization’s performance to its top executive, thus popularizing these individuals in positive or negative ways. It is surprising that so little research has addressed this phenomenon and that there seems to be no published research at all on infamous top executives”. By looking at newspaper and magazine articles of a number of U.S. and Canadian publications since 2006, Moritz is discovering that journalists explain the CEOs’ and their companies’ failures on a continuum ranging from ‘victim’ to ‘lack of charisma’ to ‘wicked personality.’