This study examines the strategic use of readability to obfuscate negative news in a German financial communication context. Combining a manual and an automated content analysis, the authors assess the tone and readability of three parts (chairman’s address, share-price development, and development in the fiscal year) of the 2014 annual reports of the 30 companies listed in the German stock index DAX. The results indicate that positively connoted passages in annual reports are not necessarily easier to read than negatively connoted passages. Furthermore, the readability of the annual report varies depending on the part and its function within the report.

中文翻译：

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坏消息难读吗？30家DAX公司年报中不同内涵段落的可读性分析

本研究考察了在德国金融传播环境中战略性地使用可读性来混淆负面新闻。作者结合手动和自动内容分析，评估了德国股指30家上市公司2014年年报三部分（董事长致辞、股价走势、财年发展）的基调和可读性。达克斯。结果表明，年度报告中带有积极意义的段落不一定比带有负面意义的段落更容易阅读。此外，年度报告的可读性取决于报告中的部分及其功能。