11 comments

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  thornley

  10 months ago

  "What happens is that everyone who abides by the embargo comes out with a nicely-packaged story that hits all the points from the press release, and they all come out at the same time. How does that really help anyone?"
  
  Gee Mathew, you have a pretty cynical view of reporters. I hope they're not so lazy as to simply spew the bumpf from a press release.
  
  Interesting coincidence: Last night, a marketing VP told me about the next release of his WebApp, scheduled for early September. About half way through, he realized he'd told me things he hadn't started out to tell me and he asked me to observe an embargo. And I will. Because I have no desire to hurt a person for a simple indiscretion.
  
  But you can be sure that I will use the time between now and the next release to look at his current offering and test it against the next set of improvements. And I won't spew the release text (I don't event think I'll look at it.) I'll publish my own take.
  
  And I'm not even a journalist. I'm just a blogging exec who has an enthusiasm for social media and community building.
  
  In my experience, the vast majority of reporters who have information on embargo do no less than I intend to do. They research. They look at competitors. They find sources who can give them a unique angle or perspective on the story. And then they publish something that's worth reading.
  
  I think you do that, don't you?
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  mathewi

  10 months ago

  Yes, I do that Joe, and I'm glad you do too. My point -- which I think
  you're missing -- is that I (and lots of other reporters) do all of
  that without having to agree to embargoes. Maybe our stories or posts
  don't all come out at the exact same moment as everyone else's, but I
  don't think that matters as much as some other people seem to.
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  thornley

  10 months ago

  Mathew, I'm not missing your point. I just think it's irrelevant. If people are going to do their jobs (which I think they will), it's actually a good thing if people can see a variety of perspectives about an announcement when it happens. This doesn't stop people from doing a second take. But interest is highest and most people go looking for information when they first hear of the announcement. Embargoes allow a broader group of reporters/commentators/critics/peoplelikeme to catch the news and offer a perspective when people are looking for it.
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  mathewi

  10 months ago

  Fair enough -- but nothing you've said requires that there be an embargo, except the need to generate a lot of hype over a specific date.
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  Scott Rosenberg

  10 months ago

  I find it amusing that this conversation is happening in 2008. It's like the professional blogosphere must gradually recapitulate every ethical quandary from the days of the old trade press.
  
  I suppose there's a parallel to respecting pub dates for books, opening dates for movies, etc. But mostly, the whole embargo concept is, as you say, all about convenience for first the company first, and the publication at a distant second. The reader comes last.
  
  At Salon, we never agreed to embargoes. But then again we thought the Web's advent meant such cozy backscratching would become a thing of the past anyway. Whoops.
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  mathewi

  10 months ago

  Thanks for the comment, Scott. I must admit that I hoped the Web and blogs would mean the end of such things as well, but that doesn't seem to be the case, unfortunately.
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  Ryan

  10 months ago

  Perhaps if the trade/traditional press had _settled_ these issues, or done so properly, a recapitulation would not be neccesary. But you'll still see the WSJ, Wapo and AP doing embargoes for example
  
  http://gawker.com/5016656/wsj-short-on-copy-edi...
  http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/fcc_signs_of...
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  csmillie

  10 months ago

  I think embargoes and blogging are even more value now though than in trade publications in the past. SEO, sites like Techmeme and Digg have had a big impact on the desire for an embargo and controlled timing for a PR. The desire to control PR is going to increase, either through embargo's or just time released communication.
  
  While I agree that most of the benefit is with the vendor, I do think there is some benefit to the blogger too. They get to be included with the all the other blogs who will benefit from covering a top story or meme of the moment.
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  mathewi

  10 months ago

  That's the worst part about it, Colin -- it used to be that embargoes meant there were stories in a couple of papers or trade magazines. Now, dozens of blogs and news sites all have the same story, at the same time, about the same pumped-up launch or gadget.
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  Svetlana Gladkova

  10 months ago

  Mathew, I'm afraid I will disagree with you here simply because to me an embargo actually means that I am offered some time for research and while a well-organized launch date will be mostly beneficial to the company or product reviewed, I still have my value of the extra time. Besides, I think my readers will only benefit if I only publish the story on time when they can go and see what I'm talking about for themselves - and for their sake I can respect what the company is asking me to do, at the same time respecting the best interests of my readers.
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  ryantate

  10 months ago

  The practice is, at heart, a gimmick, to add hype to "news" the press might otherwise ignore or underplay. Your IPO comparison is apt.
  
  I have some inside information on why PR people do this, but I won't tell you unless you promise to keep it under your hat for a week.
  
  (*Cough*)
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