Every year we ask in class when are the worst days to “break” news. It used to be the default answer of weekends…or Fridays…now not so much. In a 24 7 global news cycle, the exact day and time takes much more expertise and knowing your audience. While public companies still follow the patterns of the exchanges, for those clamoring for space…especially getting outside a niche, its not so easy. How have things evolved…
In the news cycle we are in today, with the ability to self-generate coverage and control a narrative while speaking directly to the audience we want to reach, the choice of when to break news seems to have become less of a “must do.” If you have a window in time, a good story and the right voices, getting the word out doesn’t have to be as wrote as it used to be.
A first adopter of finding a window and driving an agenda is outside of sports, but still worthy to note regardless of your interest in his stance on the issues remains New York Senator Charles Schumer. Senator Schumer has a great understanding of the news cycle, and holds a press event every Sunday during the afternoon in various locations to address a particular issue he is involved with. Because he is a popular public figure and it is a slow news day, the television coverage he gets on Sunday night news is always significant, and in many ways is welcomed by the media to help fill their shows.
It has always struck me that others haven’t found the Sunday window as one that is more viable than another crowded day, but one step is consistency. Schumer has built is platform for Sundays and the media now look to it. It becomes an easy fill for them as he chooses a topic to expound upon and then drive an agenda that he backs up throughout the rest of the work week. It rarely misses getting attention.
On the sports side, legendary sports publicist Joey Goldstein would always work on holidays, especially Christmas and New Year, pitching and planning stories to get into the papers. His theory is that he is one of the few people working to get his clients “ink” on those days no matter what the story is, and many times he was successful. Now is the circulation of media outlets down on those holidays? Yes it is. However in today’s news cycle, and with the ability to drive storytelling through social, the amount of times CNN, or a website, or an all-news station, or a social platform will run a story on a slow news day can increase exponentially in comparison to a busy day when there are many events going on.
Of course its not for every bit of news, but finding those consistent holes has worked for some, especially when there are the rare quiet days in market and timeslots to fill. Quiet is rare, loud and time challenged is a the biggest hill to climb.
One other very important aspect is audience amplification. We don’t exist in a vacuum where we can hope an audience sees something. Making sure stakeholders…no matter what the day or time…are seeing and sharing is also key. We often forget the best amplifiers are the ones in the narrative, make sure they are in the mix, no matter what the time.
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