News embargo

A sign at a U.S. National Agricultural Statistics Service briefing on crop production, held at a secure data room where politicians and journalists are briefed on embargoed data two hours before its release

In journalism and public relations, a news embargo or press embargo is a request or requirement by a source that the information or news provided by that source not be published until a certain date or certain conditions have been met. They are often used by businesses making a product announcement, by medical journals, and by government officials announcing policy initiatives; the media is given advance knowledge of details being held secret so that reports can be prepared to coincide with the announcement date and yet still meet press time.[1]

In theory, press embargoes reduce inaccuracy in the reporting of breaking stories by reducing the incentive for journalists to cut corners by writing up information quickly in hopes of "scooping" the competition. A similar concept are review embargoes in video games, computer hardware and films; in these, reviewers are given early access to content or products in exchange for keeping review results secret until the embargo is lifted, preventing inaccuracies in reviews or lackluster sales at launch or to allow any flaws, bugs or other inconsistencies discovered by reviewers to be fixed before launch, preventing problems after launch.[2][3][4]

The understanding is that if the embargo is broken by reporting before then, the source will retaliate by restricting access to further information by that journalist or their publication, giving them a long-term disadvantage relative to more cooperative outlets. Embargoes are usually arranged in advance as "gentlemen's agreements." However, sometimes publicists will send embargoed press releases to newsrooms unsolicited in hopes that they will respect the embargo date without having first agreed to do so—the phrase "For Immediate Release" often found at the top of press releases indicates that the information in the release is not embargoed.

News organizations sometimes break embargoes and report information before the embargo expires, either accidentally (due to miscommunication in the newsroom) or intentionally (to get the jump on their competitors). Breaking an embargo is typically considered a serious breach of trust and can result in the source barring the offending news outlet from receiving advance information for a long period of time.

News embargoes are one of several ways a source can influence media presentation of the information they provide; others include providing information "on background" or "not for attribution", limiting or providing "access", or even direct government or market intervention against the reporters or media company. (See confidentiality terminology in journalism for a full discussion of these.) The manner in which journalists react to these and other attempts to influence coverage are a matter of journalistic ethics.

An example of an embargo being deliberately broken occurred on 19 July 2017. The television presenter and former tabloid editor Piers Morgan antagonised other journalists when he intentionally breached a BBC news embargo. This was in connection with the publication of details of BBC presenters earning more than £150,000 annually. He announced the details via his Twitter account about an hour earlier than the report's indicated time of publication. He excused his action by describing it as a "scoop".[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Delkic, Melina (11 August 2018). "Ready, Set, Embargo". New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. ^ Solca, Bogdan. "New Nvidia Turing RTX 2000-series key features detailed ahead of review embargo lift". Notebookcheck.
  3. ^ Smith, Callum (1 July 2020). "Ghost Of Tsushima: Review embargo lift date revealed and it's fantastic news!". HITC.
  4. ^ "Review Embargoes: What are They, and Do They Help?". Den of Geek. 23 November 2017.
  5. ^ Oppenheim, Maya (19 July 2017). "Piers Morgan leaks BBC salaries by breaking embargo and calls it a scoop". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  6. ^ York, Chris (19 July 2017). "Piers Morgan Branded 'Bellend' For Breaking BBC Pay Embargo". HuffPost. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  7. ^ Powell, Tom (19 July 2017). "Piers Morgan blasted for 'leaking' BBC salaries and claiming 'scoop'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 July 2018.