THE ART OF REPORTING: THE ACCURACY OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF NEW RELEASES BY THE CENTRAL BANK

New information released by central banks is of vital importance in today’s economy. By comparing over 80,000 media articles with the statement and speeches they cover, this paper investigates the drivers behind the accuracy of media coverage. Several measures of accuracy are computed and related to a series of article and journalist characteristics. The dictionary based measures are most informative in this context. Evidence is found that news agencies tend to sensationalize; more in printed than in online form. A broad series of journalist characteristics is relevant for predicting reporting accuracy.