We all know if you want to release bad national news you do it on the weekend when no one is reading blogs or newspapers or watching: Bad News Runs into Weekends!
Few of us knew, however, that there has been an ongoing concern in the Bush administration to release all bad news “late on Friday” because all the major news organizations will fail to report it to the wider audiences they serve during the work week.
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reports:
It is unclear whether the first week of the trial will help
or hurt Libby or the administration. But the trial has already pulled
back the curtain on the White House’s PR techniques and confirmed some
of the darkest suspicions of the reporters upon whom they are used.
Relatively junior White House aides run roughshod over members of the
president’s Cabinet.Bush aides charged with speaking to the public and
the media are kept out of the loop on some of the most important
issues. And bad news is dumped before the weekend for the sole purpose
of burying it.
With a candor that is frowned upon at the White House, Martin explained
the use of late-Friday statements. “Fewer people pay attention to it late on Friday,” she said. “Fewer people pay attention when it’s reported on Saturday.”
Now we know when we need to really pay attention to what comes out of the White House: Watch the News Wires on Friday Nights!
Read and write your favorite Blogs on Saturday and Sunday for Bad News reporting we’ve all been missing. Watch. Analyze. Report. Comment!