| Abstract | Based on a sample of food safety events disclosed by the media in China from 2004 to 2012, this paper first examines the effectiveness of food safety supervision and regulation by the media, the capital market and the government together, from the perspective of both media coverage and capital market response, and also investigates the spillover effect. The empirical results show that in the short run a disclosure of food safety event by mass media brings significantly negative abnormal return in the capital market, which becomes an effective mechanism to supervise food safety. However over the long run, with the government getting involved, the government media together with the capital market will form the power for supervision. Hence, establishing a sustainable mechanism with co-supervision and mutual governance by the media, the capital market and the government over food safety is an effective mode to guard our safety on the tongue. Moreover, this paper proposes the respective role of the three parties in the food safety supervision so that the food manufacturing firms don't dare to, don't be able to, and don't want to be out of line. In addition, it is found that the spillover effects may take the form of either competition effect or contagion effect. The specific form depends on whether the media report could reduce the information asymmetry. |