Should the Embargo Go?

• Update: If you'd like to listen in on June 1 at 2 pm ET/11 am PT, register here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/918593206. We'll be using the #embargo hashtag on Twitter for questions and comments.

As the embargo debate heats up, many members of the media are placing themselves on either side of the issue. For those unfamiliar with the embargo, it is a tool PR professionals use to provide all reporters with equal time to cover a story, and to enable them to do their research in advance of the news becoming public. This is very much a handshake agreement that has been broken so often at this point, that many in the press are simply opting out.

The system is obviously broken, so we at InkHouse are on the hunt for a solution. We’ve asked a few journalists – Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb, Scott Kirsner of The Boston Globe, Wade Roush of Xconomy and Jon Swartz of USA Today – who have agreed to join me for a conversation about embargoes.

We’ll be talking on June 1 and I will post the highlights here shortly thereafter. In the meantime, I have assembled a list of potential alternatives to the embargo, which follow below. Please add your suggestions in the comments below. We want this to be a session that is representative of the issues we’re all facing with the embargo. We’ll be tweeting about this using the #embargo hashtag, so feel free to join in the conversation.

Potential alternatives to the embargo:

1. Exclusives. Are exclusives a good alternative? In which scenarios? Are you more likely to consider news from a smaller startup if you are offered it exclusively?
2. Distribute the news as it happens. How would you feel about receiving the news as it crosses the wire? Does this make the news instantly old? Does it limit your interest in longer, in-depth stories? Would you need a new piece of information to do a longer story?
3. Advance notice that news will happen (without providing the details). How would you feel about notification that XYZ company will be making a product/financing/merger/etc. announcement on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. without hearing any more detail until the time of the announcement? Would this help you plan for the news or would it be the same as distributing the news as it happens?
4. Advance copy of the press release without an embargo. In this scenario, you would receive a copy of the press release 2-3 hours in advance without the restriction of an embargo time. All of the target media would have the same notice. To me, this seems like it would create a mad dash to post quickly (assuming the news is interesting), but it does provide an opportunity to cover the news as it happens with a little bit of notice? Would you be angry then if another outlet posted a piece first?
5. Press conference. What about getting a little retro and holding a press conference call (for all invited media) a few hours in advance of the formal news during which you could ask questions and after which you would receive the formal press release?

These are just my starter ideas, so please add your own and I’ll do my best to discuss them with the panel. I don’t know that we’ll solve the problem, but we’ll at least begin a dialog.