Embargoes Are Still Alive and Kicking

The results of our poll on the use of embargoes are in, and it's pretty evenly split between people who think embargoes are history and people who still think they have value as a PR tactic.

That means that for the time being, embargoes are still with us.

So if that's the case, here are a couple of ground rules to follow:

• Know your media list: if you're going to embargo a story, make sure you know each and every journalist you are giving the story to in advance. Know what their deadlines and publication schedules are.
• Don't send blind embargoed press releases: Haven't gotten one of these in awhile, but this used to be a common tactic in the pre-blog era: trying to add some sizzle to a press release by mass mailing it out with the word "embargoed" slapped on it. Most journalists scoffed at this tactic, and in this era of instant communication, it needs to be retired -- immediately.