Just as the press requires us to use clear language in a transparent, timely and fast communication, we must also stress the importance of the media in the economic agents behavior. We certainly do not ask you to restrict or limit the information, nothing could be further from the spirit of free speech we adhere to, but we do request you to be rigorous in your reporting. Overinterpretation of decisions made by the Bank or overemphasis of transient economic indicators that do not mark a trend are situations that regularly influence public sentiments and even behavior. It only remains to me to recommend professional rigor and an adequate appreciation of the evolution of the economy, which are the same demands we at the Bank make upon ourselves. Chile requires a specialized press that looks at economic events through the perspective of time and avoids being led away by sensations or climates. The economy progresses in long, slow cycles even though the day-to-day events may at times overwhelm us. We have seen tremendous progress in the Chilean economic press. The specialized journalists have played an outstanding role in contributing to a better informed society, better equipped for decision-making. As in all fields, there is always room for further improvement. From our side, we are always available to contribute to explaining or advising on complex phenomena.
It states that the Bank communicates with the public by way of official notices and publications, minutes, previously announced public conferences, interviews or public declarations made by board members. It also says that the Governor is directly responsible for all the information the Bank puts out, except for whatever the individual board members might publish or say in public. At the same time, the policy rules that the Bank must publish all information or resolution relevant to the market as soon as it has been validated, thus obliging itself to give out all market-sensitive information as quickly as possible. Whenever a board member or Bank executive gives a talk with information that could be relevant for the market, it is published on the website. Any public presentation given by the Governor is posted on the web as soon as they begin so that the general public has access to the information at the same time as those present. In my own case, and so that there is no discrimination between those who attend the presentation and those who do not, I leave a written text of my speech which is not an easy task to do, but ensures providing a precise message. For you as journalists, this is useful to your work and contributes to avoiding the use of the old excuse “I was misinterpreted”, which may occur, but in most cases is the fault  4  See Blinder and others (2008) for more details on communication in central banks and relevant references.