Harley-Davidson bars journalists from annual meeting

Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc. barred journalists from attending its annual shareholder meeting, reports Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Barrett writes, “The press has no legal right to get into a shareholders meeting, although in Wisconsin it would be unusual for a company to shut out reporters.

“Some companies go as far as broadcasting their annual meeting on the internet so everybody gets the news at the same time.

“Keeping the press out could be seen as a ‘red flag’ that a company is hiding something, said Matteo Arena, an associate professor of finance at Marquette University.

“‘It just invites more media scrutiny after the meeting,’ he said. ‘It’s not a best practice.'”

Read more here. Equifax Inc. also barred reporters from its annual meeting this year.