Ben Bernanke Bids for Thought Leadership

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By: Doug Bedell

Give Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, credit for trying to be understood — and tune in today to his first TV lecture on what the Fed does. Yes, Bernake, a former professor, is going live to explain what he can of the Fed's occult operations. It's a PR initiative intended to counter attacks from the political left and right in a sluggish economy. If you miss the live broadcast, you'll be able to view it on YouTube. There will be three more as well.

We wrote yesterday about executives interested in becoming thought leaders. Now here's Ben Bernake trying his hand at that calling.

Bernanke, a former Princeton University professor, will be talking to 30 students at George Washington University about the origins and mission of the Fed. That's what a professor does. In this case, it's a former professor with savvy PR instincts. "Bernanke is getting beaten up and the Fed is getting beaten up," says Richard Dukas, of Dukas Public Relations in New York. "It's smart on his part to try to clearly communicate to the public the role of the Fed during the crisis and what it's been able to do to stabilize the situation."

Bloomberg reports that today's lecture will be streamed live on the Fed's website and on ustream.tv. It will then be posted on the bank's YouTube page. Transcripts will also be available. Sounds like a professorial book in the making.

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About the Author

Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the proprietor of Resource Relations in Central PA, which focuses on organizational communication, crisis communication, and social media. His blog, “Beetles Beat,” can be found at www.ResourceRelations.com. On Twitter, he’s DougBeetle.

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