The embargo will not die quietly
Breaking news is available around the clock and the race to be the first to publish a news story is becoming increasingly competitive. But as journalists battle it out to feature a story before the rest of the pack - will the embargo become an antiquated practice?
The embargo is a standard procedure between PRs and journalists, allowing the journalist to have advanced warning of a news story - offering them the time to do any additional research and write an informed and insightful piece. It also gives publications with longer lead times the chance to feature news at the same time as competing media outlets that are produced more frequently.
However, the introduction of 24 hour news online has changed the way things are played. As news can be transmitted across the world in an instant, there is an argument that the embargo has never been more important to help control the time a story breaks. But as media outlets compete to be the first to publish a story, there are rumours that more journalists are looking to disregard the embargo.
It has been reported that The Wall Street Journal has introduced a new policy for its editorial staff, stipulating that they should not accept embargoes for stories unless they are exclusives. This news follows an announcement by influential tech blog TechCrunch in December, stating that it would break every embargo it encountered.
Embargoes are based on an agreement of trust and, as PR professionals, we all know that an embargo is always a risk. It is a request rather than a stipulation and is never a guarantee that your story will be held until your requested day and time.
But the gamble a journalist takes when breaking the embargo could jeopardise the relationships that have been built up as, in their quest to feature the most breaking news first, they could risk PRs potentially holding back releases in the future from journalists known to break their embargo.
That said, the embargo should always be based on mutual trust. There are stories of PRs putting an embargo on a press release then breaking stories themselves via blogs or social networking sites like Twitter – much to the annoyance of journalists who have honoured their part of the bargain. The increasing popularity of news breaking via social networks or blogs means that the embargo may need clarifying to cover these outlets.
Good media relations are central to helping to ensure your embargo will be honored. An embargo should only be used when necessary, rather than without thought, to help build this relationship of trust with journalists by providing content in a timely fashion and to tailored distribution lists.
The embargo after all is for the mutual benefit of both the journalist and the PR, so when used correctly by both parties it will deliver readers with good news stories, at the right time and in the right way.