An embargo, also known as press embargo, is an agreement or request that a newspaper, news agency or television station refrain from reporting information until a specified date and/or time.
For instance, if a Union Minister plans to announce a policy initiative at 8:00 pm, the minister’s staff might transmit details of the announcement to important news organizations several hours ahead, with a notice indicating that the contents are embargoed until 8:00 p.m.
This gives the news organizations time to research and prepare detailed stories to be run on television or newspapers as soon as the embargoed hour is over. The reporters don’t have to cut corners in attempting to write analytical or commentative stories at the last minute.
Embargoes are commonly used by government or corporate representatives working in public relations departments, and are often arranged in advance as part of a formal or informal arrangement.
Sometimes publishers will release advance copies of a book to reviewers with the agreement that reviews of it will not appear before the official release date of the publication.
Complex scientific news might also require advance notice with an embargo. Artists’ names and locations of performances are sometimes embargoed pending the official announcement of the scheduled performance tour.
News organizations sometimes break embargoes and report information before the embargo expires, either accidentally (due to miscommunication in the newsroom) or intentionally (to get the jump on their competitors). But this is rare.
Breaking an embargo is typically considered a serious breach of trust and can result in the source barring the offending news outlet from receiving advance information in the future.
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