Chapter 17. The Rules for Breaking News

Breaking news used to be easy: You would write a news release and organize a national media tour. The tour would usually occur a couple of months in advance, to brief the monthly print publications and industry analysts. You’d hit weekly print media outlets about two weeks before the official launch day, and then you’d go after online sources a few days before the event. Of course, everyone would have to respect and abide by the same embargo date. At the time of the embargoed announcement, the news release would cross a wire service with the support of outbound call downs, outreach, and mass e-mail blasts. You would then hope that the efforts paid off in the form of news coverage, both print ...

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