Business journalists have spilled countless barrels of ink exposing the outrageous excesses of executive compensation, largely to no avail. The more these self-righteous, underpaid Pavlovian dogs dutifully document the princely sums lavished on America's corporate elite, the more executive compensation climbs.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder may have discovered why. Their explanation is enough to drive an ink-stained wretch to drink.

"Our findings suggest that the press appears to contribute to high CEO pay, which is ironic given some journalists' concerns about outsized CEO compensation," Ph.D. candidate Markus Fitza and associate professors Mathew Hayward and Kai Larsen write in a recent paper presented to the Academy of Management.

The trio started with the theory that the more attention CEOs get in the media, the greater the variable compensation -- basically everything but their salary -- they receive. Their theory wasn't based on the fact that the more successful a company is, the more the media will spread the gospel of the CEO's accomplishments, although that thought did cross their minds.

Rather, they wanted to test whether any publicity -- good, bad or neutral -- boosted CEO pay because of the impact frequent stories may have on directors who determine how large of a bonus a CEO deserves. In short, does publicity in distinguished media outlets that directors read make them more likely to pay CEOs more?

The Colorado researchers examined more than 1,500 companies and CEOs from 1997 to 2005 and how often they appeared in Business Week, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other major national business publications. Their findings disprove the old saw that familiarity breeds contempt.

Each article in a major business news publication increased a CEO's variable compensation by more than $650,000, the researchers concluded. Moreover, getting their mug shot or name on the cover of a major business publication was worth an extra $1.1 million, the researchers calculated.

According to their study, even slacker CEOs benefit from being in the news. For each percentage point a company underperforms its peers, the six-digit increase in CEO pay that resulted was only reduced by $2,800, the researchers said.

"The availability of press data about CEOs and their activities renders them more legitimate, efficacious and worthy in the minds of CEO evaluators," the researchers wrote.

So any news isn't necessarily good news for shareholders. However, it appears to be good news for CEOs and bad news for crusading journalists, who, having been slanderously assaulted on many fronts, now face charges of being unindicted co-conspirators in the inexorable rise of executive compensation.

Buying low and selling high doesn't appear to be in the cards for Mylan [Ticker: MYL].

The Cecil generic drug maker laid out $6.8 billion this month to acquire Merck KGaA's generic drug unit, a price some consider too high for a bet-the-company move that Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Coury says won't contribute to earnings until 2010.

At Mylan's shareholders meeting in July, Mr. Coury was upfront about the delayed gratification. When an 81-year-old shareholder asked whether he'll see Merck move Mylan stock in his lifetime, Mr. Coury said: "If our time horizon doesn't match your mortality, you should consider what securities you should own based on what you are looking for."

When it announced the acquisition in May, Mylan suspended its dividend and said it would issue $1.5 billion to $2 billion in equity and equity-linked securities to help pay for it. Since then, doubts about the price tag, Mr. Coury's ability to make the acquisition work, the delayed payoff and the dilutive effects of the looming stock offering have put a lid on Mylan's stock.

"I think people are rightfully skeptical," said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer of Fort Pitt Capital Group in Green Tree. "It's a long time until the 'promised land' in terms of the payoff of the deal."

Mylan shares, which were trading at $22.40 when Mr. Coury prescribed Merck, closed Friday at $15.01, $1.13 above the 52-week low they hit Aug. 10. They are down 25 percent on the year and 31 percent over the last 52 weeks.

Issuing shares now is "pretty expensive money," Mr. Smith said.

Mylan shares have slid 23 percent since June 2005, when the company bought back nearly 25 percent of its shares and doubled its dividend. The shareholder-friendly moves came after corporate raider Carl Icahn accumulated a 9.8 percent stake to thwart Mr. Coury's plans to purchase King Pharmaceuticals for $4 billion. The deal was terminated when King declined to renegotiate terms.

Mr. Coury has a new team of managers responsible for making Merck work, including Chief Operating Officer Heather Bresch, who will oversee the integration of Merck.

"It is imperative that we have a chief operating officer in place [who] knows our company, is a leader in the industry and has the experience and energy required to execute on the opportunities of the new Mylan," Mr. Coury said.