Dr. Harinath Kumar has been teaching at the department of Journalism (English), Bharati College, University of Delhi, New Delhi as a Guest Faculty since January 2020. He has recently been awarded with Ph.D. degree by the department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar (a central) University, Lucknow. Before stepping into academics he has been a journalist for 3years. He loves to explore and collaborate with diverse styles and form of arts in his writings. His journalism credits and experiences include reporting, writing and editing. Now his interest has shifted to film analysis and he has written a Ph.D. thesis on film studies. He has also completed the summer course on film appreciation organized by Film and Television Institute of India in 2017. He has also been regular delegates of International Film Festival of India, Goa since 2014.

1. Dr. Harinath Kumar
Bharati College, University of Delhi

2. 
 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not to be published until a certain date.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release—will not be published until a predetermined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.
DEFINITIONS

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

4. 
 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 20th 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.
ORIGIN

5. 
 Science
 Healthcare
 Technology
 Areas of security and national interests
KEY AREAS WHERE
EMBARGOES ARE USED

6. 
 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.
Examples

7. 
 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.
Examples

8. 
 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.
IMPORTANCE IN JOURNALISM

9. 
 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.
IMPORTANCE IN JOURNALISM

10. 
 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.
REPERCUSSIONS OF BREAKING AN EMBARGO

11. 
 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.
WHEN TO USE EMBARGOES?

12. 
 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.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF PITCHING AN EMBARGO