Media lock-up

A media lock-up is a security procedure typically associated with politically sensitive disclosures and press conferences. During a media lock-up, accredited journalists receive advance access to information and expert advisers in order to assist with the accuracy of their reporting on matters disclosed. A media lock-up ends when a timed embargo on the release of information is lifted.

Process

Journalists may be required to sign deed polls or other agreements prior to receiving permission to attend media lock-ups. Mobile phones may be required to be turned off and/or left with a security supervisor upon entry. Laptop, wireless and mobile phone devices must generally be disconnected to prevent any other means of outbound communication until a scheduled embargo is lifted.[1] During a media lock-up, attendees are not permitted to leave the room, and no-one is allowed to approach any internal communications infrastructure.[2][3] In cases where mobile phones are not required to be surrendered, attendees may be subject to escorts when visiting the bathroom.[4]

Use

Institutions to impose media lock-ups include the Reserve Bank of Australia,[2] the Australian Government,[5] the New Zealand Treasury,[4] the United States Department of Labor,[6] the South African Treasury,[7] the Government of Canada[8][9] and the Supreme Court of Canada.[10][11] The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that it uses media lock-ups "to improve the accuracy of media reporting of Supreme Court of Canada decisions and to assist members of the media in reporting on cases that have attracted a high level of public interest."[10]

Budget lock-up

A specific variety of media lock-up, especially found in responsible government jurisdictions, budget lock-ups are designed to expedite coverage of government budgets.[12] They usually involve the surrender of cellular devices, and receiving documents in a location without internet access. While documents may historically only have been distributed in hard copy, it is now sometimes practice to distribute pre-loaded USB memory drives, which saves paper and affords attendees the ability to pre-draft articles using a word processor on a non-cellular device.[13] The level of detail in the budget documents may differ by jurisdiction, for example, in Australia, documents may mainly consist of financial tables, while in Canada the documents may be more narratively driven.[14][15] Lock-ups may be held centrally by a Ministry of Finance, or by multiple government departments at once.[16]

Unlike usual media lock-ups, attendees may not be limited to media, and may include representatives from stakeholder groups who may have interest in putting out press releases with relation to the budget, and over a thousand people may be present at a lock-up, including government officials.[17][18] Budget lock-ups may include access to a variety of civil service technical experts on items in the budget, to facilitate more accurate coverage of details which may only be mentioned briefly in the budget document or budget speech.[19] In certain jurisdictions, questions may also be posed during a time at which the finance minister attends the lockup.[20][21] The attendees are typically released at the beginning of as Finance Minister's budget speech, at which time they will receive their cellular devices back.[22]

In Australia, budget lockups can be administered within the offices of media organizations, instead of a centralized government location.[23]

Response

Lock-ups associated with the Australian budget have been controversial. In 2014, members of several trade unions claimed that they have been refused entry to a stakeholder lock-up.[24] Some journalists consider the Australian budget media lock-up "pointless", noting that contentious matters are typically already known due to prior leaks to the press. In 2013, one unnamed attendee described the budget lock-up as "one way the Government can sell its message... They have a captive audience, quite literally."[25]

A media lock-up held by the Government of Canada in January 2015 prior to the tabling of an anti-terrorism bill was criticized by attendees, who were denied access to the bill ahead of the press conference.[26]

In 2011 author Nicholas Russell wrote that media lock-ups "may do more good than harm" by providing journalists with "thinking time" on complex matters. He also wrote that "It can be argued that the lock-up system leads to wholesale homogenization of the news - everyone gets basically the same story."[27]

References

  1. ^ "Diary of a media lock-up". News. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  2. ^ a b "Media lock-up procedures". Reserve Bank of Australia. Archived from the original on 2020-03-08.
  3. ^ "The Budget Lockup | AustralianPolitics.com". australianpolitics.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  4. ^ a b "Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update Media Lock-Up — The Treasury - New Zealand". www.treasury.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 2016-02-14. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  5. ^ "IGR media lock-up invitation | Media | The Hon. Joe Hockey MP". www.joehockey.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  6. ^ "News Media Lock-Up Notices | United States Department of Labor". www.dol.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  7. ^ "Treasury on Budget 2015 media lock-up | South African Government". www.gov.za. Archived from the original on 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  8. ^ Canada, Government of Canada,Finance (2015-04-07). "Canada News Centre - Archived - Media Lock-Up for Economic Action Plan 2015". news.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2016-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Media Advisory - CRTC Media Lock-Up - Decision on BCE/Astral's transaction -- OTTAWA-GATINEAU, Oct. 17, 2012". www.newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  10. ^ a b Canada, Supreme Court of. "Supreme Court of Canada - After the Hearing". www.scc-csc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  11. ^ Canada, Supreme Court of. "Supreme Court of Canada - Resources for Media - Procedure for Lock-ups". www.scc-csc.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  12. ^ Capel, Angus (2020-10-07). "What it was like inside this year's Federal Budget Lockup". Xero Blog. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  13. ^ Canada, Department of Finance (2023-03-15). "Media Lock-Up for Budget 2023". www.canada.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  14. ^ Canada, Department of Finance (2023-03-28). "Budget 2023". budget.canada.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  15. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2023-05-08). "Inside the Canberra bubble: what happens in the federal budget media lock-up?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  16. ^ Rollmann, Rhea (2020-11-13). "How Budget Day Changed When Media Picked the Attendees". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  17. ^ The Canadian Press (7 February 2014). "Budget lockup includes free lunches for bureaucrats, experts". CBC News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  18. ^ Digital, Rocket (2018-03-06). "POV – The Lockup". CSPC. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  19. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2023-05-08). "Inside the Canberra bubble: what happens in the federal budget media lock-up?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  20. ^ Byron Plant & Jennifer Bancroft. 2009. Budget Day Traditions. Legislative Library of the Province of British Columbia. https://www.leg.bc.ca/content-peo/Learning-Resources/BC-Budget-Day-Traditions-BP200908-English.pdf Archived 2020-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2023-05-08). "Inside the Canberra bubble: what happens in the federal budget media lock-up?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  22. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2023-05-08). "Inside the Canberra bubble: what happens in the federal budget media lock-up?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  23. ^ Remeikis, Amy (2023-05-08). "Inside the Canberra bubble: what happens in the federal budget media lock-up?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  24. ^ "Abbott government freezes unions out of budget lock-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  25. ^ "What happens inside the budget lock-up?". ABC News. 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  26. ^ Nuttall, Jeremy J. (2015-01-31). "Inside the Orwellian Launch of Tories' Anti-Terrorism Act | The Tyee". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  27. ^ Russell, Nicholas (2011-11-01). Morals and the Media, 2nd edition: Ethics in Canadian Journalism. UBC Press. ISBN 9780774840460.