In class today, we discussed the very interesting topic of news management: the timing and control of news releases so that you can influence the news agenda.

There are examples of this practice on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a scandal in the UK a few years ago when a Labour Party spin doctor, Jo Moore, circulated a message on the day of the 11 September attacks to the effect that it was “a good day to bury bad news.” What she meant was that because the news coverage of the terrorist attacks was going to be so extensive, a government department – obliged to release statistics, facts, figures, or a report of some kind – might choose to do so on a “fast news day.”

You can read the background to that story by following the link above and reading the stories leading up to that one.

Meanwhile, across in Washington, the Bush administration has made a habit of “burying bad news” by releasing it late on a Friday afternoon. Think about it: most weekend newspapers are put together by their teams over the working week. By Friday afternoon, the Saturday edition is ready to go, and the Sunday edition is also pretty much complete. Journalists are like the rest of us in that they’d rather not work weekends, so there’s every chance that the bad news you want to bury will stay buried.

This is perhaps why the report into Sarah Palin’s “Troopergate” was released last Friday afternoon during an economic meltdown.

In 2003, Congressional Representative Carolyn Maloney (Democrat, New York), published a helpful guide to that years official Census poverty figures. Instead of being released at a press conference in the centre of Washington, DC on a Thursday, the Bush government chose to release them in an obscure suburb on a Friday night. Hmmm…

SUITLAND, MD – Are you used to the annual poverty and income statistics being delivered every year like clockwork in downtown Washington at the National Press Club on a Tuesday or Thursday in late September? Are you having trouble finding them this year? That’s because the Bush administration has set up a challenging game of hide and seek for the press – and the public – to find the data.
Why does the Administration want us to have so much fun? Are they trying to hide the numbers?

This is by no means the only example. Here’s a example of bad news about Iraq which was “buried on a Friday.” And one about an education report which didn’t fit with the Bush administration’s world view.
More than simply burying bad news, the Bush administration has been found guilty of buying good news: using government funds to spin stories that show the administration in a favourable light.

These tactics should sound a warning bell: politicians are so wise to the ways of the media that they know exactly how to manage news. They know that press releases are unlikely to be checked and challenged. They know that when a big story is in the air, smaller stories will be ignored. The record will show that they released the information; but damage caused by the information will be strictly contained.

But is it just the politicians who are at it? Here’s a story from Slate about how big companies can be guilty of the same thing.

Investors and journalists have long complained that companies release bad news—a failed product trial, a recall, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation—on Fridays, particularly after the market closes. The Friday release is a transparent attempt to evade fallout by burying bad news ahead of the weekend.

The good news is that nobody seems to be fooled by this in the long term, but it’s something to watch out for.

Finally, here’s one about how bad news can be buried under pointless press releases. If bad publicity about you or your company is appearing near the top of Google searches, you release loads of (harmless, pointless) press releases using similar key words, so that the older stuff disappears off the front page.