Embargoes are a convention not to be dabbled in

EmbargoesEarlier this week Australian security services and Melbourne police rounded up a group of alleged terrorists.  The raids occurred around 6 am, but at 1.30 am a newspaper was published reporting on matter relating to the raids.

Security services believed they had an agreement with the media to not publish or broadcast information on the raids until after they had occurred.

Clearly someone was not aware of this situation.  The newspaper’s action could potentially have resulted in a deadly outcome.

In its own way, this issue raises the uncomfortable matter of embargoes and how they are used. 

Embargoes are a convention that may or may not be honoured by the media.  They have no legal standing, and there is no real recourse if an embargo is broken.

There are some embargoes like the release of Honours Lists that are always respected.  These lists are released under embargo to allow time for the media to prepare meaningful news items. It is an arrangement that suits both the Government and media, and the key to its success is the knowledge that a news group that breaks this embargo will be out in the cold and potentially at a commercial disadvantage next time around!

So, embargoes are more likely to be honoured if they represent part of regular supply of information that the media genuinely want to use.

Embargoes should never be used as a mechanism for manipulating the timing of a release so to suit a company or organisation. 

Companies wishing to release material under embargo should do so with the support of professionals like us.  We will counsel their use only in situations where we know the receiving party will respect the arrangement.

The alternative is to dabble at your own risk.

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 3:18 pm and is filed under Media landscape, PR Matters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Embargoes are a convention not to be dabbled in”

  1. Erica Says:
    August 7th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    Paul,

    I’m glad you raised the issue of news embargoes. Its been reported that The Wall Street Journal has a new policy for its editorial staff, they say they will no longer accept embargoes for stories but will take exclusives. The embargo is not a legally binding arrangement but it appears the notion and execution of embargoes need an update in the new 24 / 7 global news environment. Currently a story out in one territory becomes an instant global announcement – embargoed or not.

  2. Katherine Says:
    August 7th, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    It seems this issue is only likely to worsen as the speed and method in which we can convey information evolves.

    Citizen journalists and platforms like Twitter, for example, which allow information to spread at super speed and with little control over the potential reach, surely add to the concern.

    Also the media landscape has changed quite dramatically in recent years. Without wishing to discriminate or make any wild generalisation, in days gone by wasn’t an embargo considered to be somewhat of a ‘Gentleman’s agreement’ between journos and those supplying the information? Do you think that sort of ‘old guard’ consideration is still maintained today?