- The company should be listed in one of the major U.S. stock exchanges (e.g., NYSE, Nasdaq).
- You should look at the parent company level (Viacom, not MTV; Belo, not WFAA-TV).
- If you need ideas.... Media Owners and Columbia Journalism Review has a "Who Owns What" feature that details many media companies' holdings. Caveat: not all of these companies are publicly traded. Another approach is to go to the websites of the stock exchanges (NYSE and Nasdaq) and search their listings by sector. The Technology and Telecommunications industries have some options, and look for lots of media options under industry Consumer Services, supersector Media.
- Another caveat: make sure the company does and owns what you assume it does. For instance, selecting Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO) means you are following the company that sells billboard space, not the owner of radio stations across the country. Clear Channel radio stations are a privately held company, not eligible for this project.
2. Select your company and name your choice in a comment to this post by Sept. 3.
- Name the company and its ticker symbol -- e.g., Amazon (AMZN).
- Only one person in the class may hold any given company, and it's first-come, first-served. Check the blog to make sure no one else has your first choice. If there's duplication, the first person who commented on this post to claim the company will get it.
- Along with the name of the company, include a brief (few sentences) rationale for your selection. For example, perhaps you're a fan of one or more of the company's holdings, you think the company will grow in the next few months, or you would like to work for the company some day.
