Saving scoops is asking for trouble

Posted by Martin Stabe on 22 September 2006 at 13:56
Tags: Journalism, Magazines, Online

Over at the newly-launched blog of the US magazine industry magazine Folio:, Marrecca Fiore shares an anecdote highlighting the dangers instantaneous online news represents for monthly or even weekly trade publications.

On Tuesday, Folio: received a tip that financial disclosures by a printing company would reveal that it was closing five plants. Rather than rushing the exclusive online, the editors decided to hold it for the magazine’s weekly e-mail newsletter, which due to be sent out on Thursday.

You know what’s coming.

Inevitably, the story was revealed to the world when it was mentioned in a related press release by another company.
Fiore writes: “We got scoopted on our own scoop. Lesson learned, point taken. In the Internet age, research is easy, breaking news is hard and saving stories is unwise.”

Tags: Journalism, Magazines, Online