PR 101
For you laypeople out there who don't know what the bloggers are all fussing about, here's some background.
Newsmakers and news organizations need each other. Newsmakers need the exposure, while news organizations need a constant flow of news releases, orchestrated events, and tips from newsmakers to fill their pages and airtime. It's a symbiotic relationship.
Newsmakers constantly send out news releases, typically marked "For Immediate Release," which means that news organizations can do with them whatever they want....trash them (the most common fate), run them as written (lazy but all too common, alas), use them as the basis for their own stories, combine them with other material, whatever.
Less often, newsmakers send out embargoed material...."media advisories" or "advance releases," with restrictions on their release. Sometimes the embargoed material is just a tip, not a story. Sometimes it has a specified release time. For example, let's say WIU is going to hold a press conference on Friday to announce that Chuck Scholz has been named its new football coach. It would probably send out an embargoed press kit, so that local media would know to be there, but with the understanding that they wouldn't release the information until after the news conference.
So what happens if the news organization violates that gentleman's agreement and goes ahead with embargoed material anyway?
Not much. The news organization gets a scoop for a day, or maybe a few hours. But your newsmaker is going to be really pissed off, because they were planning a nice orchestrated event and the news organization went and spoiled it. It happens now and then. To follow the above hypothetical example, if WGEM prematurely announced the naming of the new coach, it could claim to have scooped everyone else (even though everybody had the information already, but chose to honor the embargo). WIU would be royally pissed, because WGEM would have stepped on its carefully planned announcement with big muddy feet.
In the rare occasions when a news organization breaks an embargo, it can expect that the newsmaker will slap back....usually in the form of freezing out its reporters for a while. But that slapback never lasts long because (remember)....it's a symbiotic relationship. They need each other.
So that's what happened with Dick Durbin and WTAD/QNO. They shit on his embargo, and the senator's press person slapped back. You can expect it to last a few months, then they'll be back to normal again. It's a squabble inside the news nest, not a conspiracy, blacklist, or any of those other silly inflammatory labels.
Newsmakers and news organizations need each other. Newsmakers need the exposure, while news organizations need a constant flow of news releases, orchestrated events, and tips from newsmakers to fill their pages and airtime. It's a symbiotic relationship.
Newsmakers constantly send out news releases, typically marked "For Immediate Release," which means that news organizations can do with them whatever they want....trash them (the most common fate), run them as written (lazy but all too common, alas), use them as the basis for their own stories, combine them with other material, whatever.
Less often, newsmakers send out embargoed material...."media advisories" or "advance releases," with restrictions on their release. Sometimes the embargoed material is just a tip, not a story. Sometimes it has a specified release time. For example, let's say WIU is going to hold a press conference on Friday to announce that Chuck Scholz has been named its new football coach. It would probably send out an embargoed press kit, so that local media would know to be there, but with the understanding that they wouldn't release the information until after the news conference.
So what happens if the news organization violates that gentleman's agreement and goes ahead with embargoed material anyway?
Not much. The news organization gets a scoop for a day, or maybe a few hours. But your newsmaker is going to be really pissed off, because they were planning a nice orchestrated event and the news organization went and spoiled it. It happens now and then. To follow the above hypothetical example, if WGEM prematurely announced the naming of the new coach, it could claim to have scooped everyone else (even though everybody had the information already, but chose to honor the embargo). WIU would be royally pissed, because WGEM would have stepped on its carefully planned announcement with big muddy feet.
In the rare occasions when a news organization breaks an embargo, it can expect that the newsmaker will slap back....usually in the form of freezing out its reporters for a while. But that slapback never lasts long because (remember)....it's a symbiotic relationship. They need each other.
So that's what happened with Dick Durbin and WTAD/QNO. They shit on his embargo, and the senator's press person slapped back. You can expect it to last a few months, then they'll be back to normal again. It's a squabble inside the news nest, not a conspiracy, blacklist, or any of those other silly inflammatory labels.
posted by Allthenewsthatfits at 8:40 AM
8 Comments:
But it makes for great political theatre!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I felt sure it was the end of the Republic!
According to QNO, it wasn't a wait to release this. It was a don't tell anyone, at all... EVER, but come and cover our orchestrated dog and pony show. Big difference, especially when it's coming from a public official. It was stupid. If they were going to blacklist them, just do it. Don't make phone call.
ATN ,
Your post made a Whig blog and as of right now the traffic has grown there to almost 12 people .
So why is it okay for Durbin to sneak into town and not answer to the people he represents?
ATN ,
I missed the link off RH's blog about "rocking out"
That would make the number that read DC's post 17
( 18 in reality but PC reading over DC's shoulder doesn't count )
Guess that means I'll have to read the Whig blogs for once.
I take that back....I do read them about once every six months. Just can't get in the habit.
Probably not to unusual for most. Also most likely why Crim decided to put it there. Probably should have just not said anything at all.
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