In this paper, we explore the determinants of media coverage of Federal Reserve (Fed) communications. Our sample covers all 344 forward-looking communications made in the period May 1999-May 2004. We find, first, that there is a higher likelihood of media coverage for monetary policy reports and...

Sentiment analysis is applied to the Federal Reserve's documents relating to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). A new method of rating the sentiment of texts is developed through the creation of a 100 000 word sentiment dictionary, and is used to estimate the sentiment of the Beige Book...

Despite substantial differences in monetary policy and communication strategies, many central banks share the practice of purdah, a self-imposed guideline of abstaining from communication around policy meetings or other important events. This practice is remarkable, as it seems to contradict the...