What is Embargo in Journalism?

DEFINITIONS

• An agreement between the source and the media organization: The latter is provided with news that ought not to be published until a certain date.
• An embargoed release is a media release or announcement that is shared with the media in advance of its publishing date.
• An embargo is an agreement between a source and a media outlet that information—often contained in a press release—will not be published until a predetermined time.
• Limitation on the earliest time when a news item given to a journalist can be published or broadcast, usually a date.

FEATURES

1. It involves sharing of news in advance.
2. It is based on the element of trust.
3. It is usually non- binding in nature. (other serious repercussions might be there)
4. The Statement of Time plays a crucial role.

ORIGIN

The origins of the press embargo have not yet been explored by the social sciences. The majority of experts trace the embargo back to World War I or a little earlier. [World War I is 11 often called the first war of media or pictures (Paul 2014)]. This was the period when great powers in Europe began to professionalize their propaganda and thus tightened the rules for the publication of news. There is another set of experts who believe that embargoes emerged in 20^th century. Against this Ron Smith, a professor of public communication at Buffalo State University, US, considers it possible that the embargo might already have emerged in the 19th century in the US. “Embargoes are probably an American contribution to the field of journalism, in that they seem to have originated from the days when mail (and thus news stories) travelled by coach and train, sometimes arriving several days after they were sent” (Smith 2014).

The exact origin still remains a highly debated topic.

KEY AREAS WHERE EMBARGOES ARE USED

a.                   Science

b.                  Healthcare

c.                   Technology

d.                  Areas of security and national interests

EXAMPLES  

• Embargo was used when then President of the United States George W. Bush visited Iraq on Thanksgiving Day in 2003. The President’s visit to Iraq was an unannounced trip, but some reporters knew about it in advance. Reporters were told not to break the news until the President’s trip was concluded. The embargo further went on to state that if news of the trip broke, then the entire trip would be canceled.

• The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense informed some media outlets that Prince Harry would be serving in Afghanistan. But the condition was that they would release this information only after the end of his deployment. But somehow this information got leaked and the officials were forced to put an end to the embargo. In the end the Prince was removed from the field.

• Some media outlets in 2007 published early reviews of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” thereby outraging readers and the publisher with disclosures of the series-ending book’s key plot points. The news organizations argued that the embargo had become null and void once an online discounter began selling copies of the book before the agreed-upon release date.

• Information related to financial budget of a country is usually embargoed. In some countries like Canada and Australia the journalists are kept in lockups prior to the release of official statement regarding the budget. This is done to ensure that no insider trading happens.

• To have synchronized effects on all economies of the world international organizations often use embargo. For instance International Monetary Fund’s briefings are usually embargoed until 10:30 a.m. Washington Time.

• Hike in oil prices can affect the entire world economy and thus this information is also embargoed to a large extent.

IMPORTANCE IN JOURNALISM

There are so many reasons why news embargoes are important. Some of the reasons are as follows:

• They help journalists and reporters to prepare their story in advance before press time.

• They allow for an increased impact of the story or information being delivered because not one or two media outlets publish it at the same time but several media outlets. This significantly increases the impact of the story or information.

• They help in preventing competition among news organizations since every outlet has access to the story or information.

• They give journalists ample of time to work on a story, it prevents inaccuracies.

• They allow journalists to tell better stories that would be appreciated by the public.

• They give journalists enough time to absorb information, especially when the information is a complicated one. They have the time to research on it and put the pieces together before press time.

• Honoring an embargo can help in building strong relationships between journalists and their sources.

REPERCUSSIONS OF BREAKING AN EMBARGO

News organizations and journalists sometimes break an embargo and go ahead to report information that they are not supposed to report until a particular time. Sometimes the news organizations break the embargo intentionally or sometimes it is unintentional. 

When news organizations break the embargo intentionally, they do so because they want to publish the story before their competitors and sell more papers or get higher ratings. If a journalist or news organization breaks an embargo, since it is not a legally binding agreement, there is nothing the source can do. But it is considered a serious thing and can damage the relationship between the source and the particular media outlet that broke the embargo. The action most sources take after a news organization breaks an embargo is to blacklist them and prevent them from receiving any information from them again. Sometimes the suspension can be indefinite depending on the gravity of their offence.

Thus, when a journalist or a news organization breaks embargoes, in the initial stage they get advantage over their competitors, but as time goes on they suffer a long-term disadvantage.

WHEN TO USE EMBARGOES?

• If the announcement is complex and needs demonstrating and explaining.

• If there are commercial reasons why details can’t be shared gradually over time beforehand, such as competitive pressure.

• If you want to manufacture buzz: When everyone is reporting on particular story at once, it creates the impression that the story involves something BIG.

DO’S AND DON’TS OF PITCHING AN EMBARGO

• DO get the facts right ahead of time. 
• DO practice transparency when communicating with different reporters at the same outlet. 
• DO manage your client’s expectations. 
• DON’T confuse pitching under embargo with pitching an exclusive.
• DON’T just assume that a reporter accepts the terms of an embargo.
• DON’T pitch under embargo without doing your homework. 
• Be specific with publication date and time. 
• Be fair with issuing press release embargoes. 
• Use the embargoed press release sparingly. 

SOURCES

• Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper (University of Oxford):-‘News Embargoes - Under threat, but not extinct’ by Sonja Gruber
• Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2015/03/11/eight-pr-terms-you-should-know-but-only-vaguely-understand/#770ec20d31ef)
•  https://publicrelationssydney.com.au/embargoes-what-are-they-and-when-to-use-them-2/
• The News Manual (https://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/glossary.html)
• e-releases ( http://www.ereleases.com/pr-fuel/embargoed-press-releases/)
• http://www.kcsa.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-pitching-news-under-embargo/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-the-world-of-embargoes-they-release-no-news-before-its-time/2013/07/11/3b19ca4c-ea66-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html?utm_term=.be71ea84b265

- Sanjana, Student of Journalism, LSR