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Social Thoughts for Dec 18 2008: Death to the embargo

Techcrunch is declared to PR agencies that it either an exclusive or death to the embargo.

Their reason being that other website publications are choosing to break the embargo to be first with the news and thus providing no advantage to Techcrunch.

Embargos in Asia are well respected though, probably because embargoes are often given to print publications.

To the non-media/PR trained, an embargoed press release or interview means that journalist will be receiving the information days prior to a date in the future that the client decides to announce to the public.

Embargos are good for journalists because it gives them time to research and prepare for the article before the date of the official announcement.

However, Techcrunch’s announcement shows another divide in the Media/PR relationship: Media looking for the exclusive so that they can be first with the news while PR looks out for the quantity of the coverage rather than the quality of it to meet the deliverables as promised to the client earlier.

This also highlights the print vs online battle. Print do not have Google search or Google news to deal with, online has.

If you are site A and you are first with the news, would you go to site B to read the same thing?

Links

Techcrunch: Death To The Embargo
PR2.0: TechCrunch Kills The Embargo, But PR Holds the Smoking Gun
Glasshouse: Techcrunch and PR
Debate on Mahalo: What do you think of Michael Arrington of TechCrunch promising to break every embargo he gets?

If you are PR or media and have a blog post on this issue, please enter them in the comments below and I will put them on the main post. 

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Of course print has Google news to deal with. Print competes for attention with online. The issue is whether print can generate unique content through unique interviews - if it can, then that differentiates it from news aggregation services.
December 20, 2008 at 12:48 AM
Aaron Koh said…
@J1 totally agree with you.

The problem is most embargoed news comes in the form of a press release not an interview.

Unless the spokesperson decides it makes sense to work exclusively with a single publication, but usually they rather see mass coverage.
December 20, 2008 at 12:58 AM
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