Wards Accounting Seminar Series. "When the Press Fall Silent: The Impact of Local Newspaper Closures on Corporate Greenwashing"
Published: 7 January 2026
30 January 2026. Dr Shuo Wang University of Edinburgh.
Dr Shuo Wang, University of Edinburgh, UK
"When the Press Fall Silent; The Impact of Local Newspaper Closures on Corporate Greenwashing"
Friday, 30 January 2026. 12:00-14:00 Room 582, The Adam Smith Business School building
Abstract
This study examines whether local newspaper closures increase corporate greenwashing. Using newspaper shutdowns as an exogenous shock to local information availability and a panel of U.S. firms from 2002 to 2017, We find that firms located in affected counties engage in significantly more greenwashing. The effect remains robust across alternative treatment definitions, model specifications with various fixed effects, different greenwashing measures, and additional county-level controls, indicating that the reduction in local news coverage weakens external scrutiny, allowing a larger gap to emerge between environmental disclosure and actual performance. Cross-sectional analyses show that the effect of local newspaper closures on greenwashing is stronger in communities with weaker community-based scrutiny, and limited internet-based information substitutes, and among larger and more visible firms with stronger incentives and capacity for strategic disclosure, where local newspapers function as an important complementary external monitoring channel. Overall, the findings highlight the role of local newspapers as an important information channel that promotes environmental transparency and constrains corporate greenwashing behavior.
Bio
Shuo joined the University of Edinburgh Business School as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Financial Accounting in February 2022. Prior to joining Edinburgh, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Investment and a PhD in Accounting and Finance from the University of Bristol. Shuo’s research primarily examines how the quality and quantity of corporate disclosure affect capital market outcomes. More recently, his work has expanded into sustainability reporting assurance, supply chain management, and corporate greenwashing. His research has been published in leading accounting journals such as European Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons, Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, The British Accounting Review, and Accounting and Business Research, as well as in journals outside accounting, including the Journal of Supply Chain Management and the Journal of Empirical Finance.
For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk
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First published: 7 January 2026