One big reason why I said the "news dump" meme doesn't apply to the Comey email story:
The strange turn in the race found vivid expression on the Sunday news programs, where surrogates for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump abandoned their usual messages and battled instead over Mr. Comey’s conduct and his personal credibility — with only scant insight into the substance behind his announcement. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/31/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-james-comey.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/31/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-james-comey.html Comey knew this would be such a big story that the usual Friday "news dump" notion that nobody would be paying attention wouldn't apply, so his priority was to get it out as soon as possible to inflict maximum damage on the Clinton campaign. There are currently four reports on the Comey email story, including the lead article, on the NYTimes.com front page. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <authfriend@...> wrote : Bhairitu, you should avoid using the word "obviously" when you really don't know what you're talking about. In this case, you're stuck in standard patterns and unable to adjust your perspective to get a handle on novel situations. Yes, of course I know about news dumps taking place on Friday in the hope that they'll attract less attention from the media and the public. This was an exception in two ways, as I explained and you ignored. Comey wanted to get the information out ASAP (it was leaked, but he knew it would be leaked immediately after he sent the letter to the GOP leaders). He couldn't have done it sooner than Friday because he himself only got the information on Thursday. He didn't want to do it later because he wanted it out in time for the Sunday talk shows. Had nothing to do with a traditional Friday news dump. You didn't know about Comey getting the information himself only the day before because you didn't bother to pay attention to the details; you were more interested in sounding knowledgeable and being able to tell readers something you (mistakenly) assumed they didn't know. The second way it was an exception is that even when released on a Friday, a piece of really sensational news will get massive attention from the media, as this did. The media had been thirsting for an "October surprise" that would turn the election back into a horse race, and this beautifully filled the bill. They didn't care that it was a Friday; they went all-out. And you can see from the flood of comments from officials and political figures that they picked up on it right away, Friday or no Friday. Actually, there's a third reason this was an exception: This close to an election, folks are paying much closer attention to the news no matter when it comes out. And this will still be hot when Monday comes around, so it won't be neglected at the water cooler. Comey's not a fool. He was well aware of what would happen, and he knew the fact that it was Friday wouldn't make enough difference to matter. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <noozguru@...> wrote : On 10/29/2016 01:17 PM, authfriend@... mailto:authfriend@... [FairfieldLife] wrote: ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <noozguru@...> mailto:noozguru@... wrote : (snip) Of course it didn't miss my attention that the new Comey stuff came out yesterday, a Friday. Always known that when bad news is to be released do it on a Friday as the "great unwashed" won't be paying attention. Actually, any of the "great unwashed" who watched television, listened to the radio, or read a newspaper or a Web site on Friday would have found out about Comey's ratf**k, because it made headlines everywhere. And if Bhairitu had been paying attention, he'd know that Comey didn't find out about the emails until he was briefed on Thursday--hence the announcement the very next day. Comey wanted to get the news out as soon as possible so it would have the maximum negative effect on Clinton's campaign--including, of course, dominating all the Sunday talk shows ("Meet the Press," etc.). Obviously Judy doesn't know that political analysts and journalists will tell you that news released on Friday doesn't get discussed like it does earlier in the week. That's why news that might stir controversy is often released on Friday. And no, Judy, the public doesn't always tune into the news on Friday like they do earlier in the week. Nor will they have a chance for a water cooler discussion. Try living on earth for a change.
