Shares of many of the top media companies reached new lows in the wake of the House of Representatives rejection of a proposed $700 billion financial-rescue package. Advertising — the lifeblood for most media companies — was on a downward slope even before the economic meltdown that has claimed investment banking houses Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Per MarketWatch, Time Warner Inc., the world’s largest media company, saw its shares fall 9.2% to $12.90, previously reaching a 52–week low of $12.68. Cable powerhouse Comcast dropped 13% to $18.01, while Walt Disney Co. declined 9.2% to $29.73.
