Soft Power and Personal Magnetism: Brendan Bracken

: If one has professional credibility and is charming and articulate, does personal credibility, in so far as one's private life is concerned, really matter in the long run? This case is not only about the balance between professional and personal credibility; it also covers the importance of perception in the communication process. The world has known many great survivors and certainly our protagonist in this case, Brendan Bracken, was one of them. Like Evelyn Waugh's character Rex Mottram in Brideshead Revisited, there was an air of mystery about Bracken. Many things were unexplained about Bracken's private life and his preposterous lies were renowned. When caught, he simply laughed and waved people away. Some people, such as Evelyn Waugh, thought him scandalous, but Bracken was favorably perceived in business and politics throughout his professional life. The birth and flourishing of the Financial Times as we know it today was his creation. He was also responsible for the Banker and, in large measure, for the continuance of the Economist. As Winston Churchill's parliamentary secretary and later as minister of information he was highly successful and trusted, especially in persuading the media to cooperate with the government during the emergency years of the war.