Embargoes allow journalists to get budget details sooner, but strict guidelines accompany the documents.
When Saskatchewan presented its budget two weeks ago, the written rules from the media services office warned that advance copies were the possession of only the persons who signed for them.
“You have no authority to share its contents, or to discuss those contents, with anyone, even those you work with, unless they have also received embargoed material.” The material couldn’t be photocopied or reproduced in any form beforethe budget speech: “The exception is the preparation of graphs … as long as the person in charge of your graphic design is on the embargo list.”
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Also: “You cannot conduct interviews based on the contents of the embargoed material until after the budget is presented even if the interviews do not run until after presentation.”
Journalists could not discuss the content of the budget with analysts or politicians unless these sources were privy to the embargoed package. Another rule emphasized: “You cannot print or air any story on the budget based on the contents, or interviews based on the contents, until after the budget speech has begun.”
Journalists were also given rules about speculation:
“If you decide to run a speculation story on what might be in the budget and that story will air, or appear, after you have received your embargoed package, it would be advisable to submit a copy of that story to Media Services at the time you receive your embargoed package. This will prevent any subsequent question of whether or not you based your story on the embargoed information.
“Or, if you intend to run a non-speculation story based on information you have generated from outside sources and that story is to run after you have received the embargoed package, you are advised to refuse the embargoed information, to prevent any subsequent problems.”