On 26/8/06, Paul Stenquist, discombobulated, unleashed: >That's true as a matter of personal ethic, but it's not legally >binding. Having worked in the automotive press for many years, I know >writers have to sign for embargoed information. That's legally binding. >The embargos don't permit the communication of the material to anyone, >even on a one-to-one basis. So the embargo has essentially been >violated already at some point in the chain, probably by the person who >told Aaron. Because I doubt that Aaron had to sign for the information, >although someone did at some point in the chain. Now it's just >spreading a rumor. But I find the coy: We know but we can't tell you >messages here to be very juvenile.
I have to agree with Paul. As news agencies, observing an embargo is critical to maintaining future contacts, and they just don't do break them. As individuals, unless someone has signed away rights, there's no legally binding 'muting' order. Of course, if embargoed info is passed on, individuals may be frowned upon and friendships could well suffer... I learn lots of embargoed stuff on a weekly basis - most of it incredibly boring and to do with UK national issues relating to health and local government etc but if I catch whiff of something interesting and pass it on casually in conversation, I'm not scared of retribution - - from who? If a third party questioned the embargo originator on the issue, they would simply deny it or reply vaguely, and perhaps be curious as to where the leak might be, but really, the info is hardly life-threatening. Of course, if my boss found out that my pillow talk was breaking the embargo, he might have a little word in my ear ;-) If embargoes are to be strictly observed, then the issuing company simply would not release the information until a few hours in advance of intended publication. Anything with an embargo period of more than 36 hours is guaranteed to achieve one thing only: the initiation of rumours and pre-publicity. Just like is happening here. Embargoes of weeks or even months are simply a ruse. That's the way business plays. -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
