It’s a time-honored tradition that politicians and businesses who have bad news to share do so on a Friday afternoon. It’s called the “Friday news dump.”
The online Political Dictionary says, “By releasing significant information on a Friday, individuals or organizations hope that the news will receive limited media coverage and public attention, allowing controversial or unfavorable news to go relatively unnoticed or fade quickly.”
I learned this lesson early in my reporting career when I was in TGIF mode looking forward to a relaxing weekend, only to have the governor’s office drop a big news story at 4:45 pm on a Friday. It meant staying late on a Friday night trying to report and write on an important story. Of course, it’s hard to reach news sources on a Friday night, so the stories I’d write in such situations would always be thinner than something done earlier in the week. And news audiences are lower on weekends because, well, people have real lives to live. And communications professionals understand that, hoping to bury bad news so fewer people will see it.
I’ve often seen the Iowa governor, whether a Democrat or Republican, veto a seemingly popular bill on the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend.
Friday news dump on steroids
There’s a recent and important example of the Friday news dump in Iowa. Last Friday, Governor Kim Reynolds announced that Iowa would turn down federal dollars to feed low-income kids next summer. The pandemic-era federal program would give families $40 a month to buy groceries over the summer, when free and reduced-priced school lunches aren’t available. It would cost Iowa a measly $2.2 million dollars to bring in federal dollars easily ten times that amount, to feed hundreds of thousands of low-income Iowa kids.
The announcement last Friday could be called a “Friday news dump on steroids” because it wasn’t just any Friday. No, the state released the information late on Friday before the Christmas weekend. At a time when most Iowans were distracted from the news cycle because they wanted to spend Christmas with their kids, the state of Iowa chose to disclose that it was stiff-arming millions of federal dollars to feed those kids next summer. If you can gauge a politician’s level of embarrassment over a decision by when it’s announced, then this “pre-Christmas Friday news dump on steroids” is about as embarrassing as it gets.
Does it still work?
Is the Friday news dump still relevant in the internet age? There’s some recent evidence that it may not be as effective as it once was, because of social media.
There’s no question that regular news consumers are less plugged in to traditional media over the weekend. They’re playing golf, shopping, and going out to eat. The Des Moines Register doesn’t even print a Saturday edition anymore. So regular folks may not spend as much time reading the newspaper or watching TV news.
But does that mean they’re spending less time on social media? I don’t think so. If anything, people who are busy working Monday-Friday have MORE time to scroll through social media. And an announcement just before Christmas that turns down free food for low-income kids will get plenty of attention, and reaction on social media.
PR News Online wrote a story in October that the Friday news dump is counter-productive in the social media age. One example it cites is Northwestern University’s Friday release of an investigation into hazing in the football program. The school suspended the head coach for two games. The story says, “…social media was ablaze that Friday afternoon about the news, and in particular, the perceived light punishment for head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The news became centered, not buried.” By the time Monday morning rolled around, it was a huge story that ended in the coach being fired.
Outrage on social media can gain momentum over a weekend when people have more time to play with their phones and scroll through their feeds.
My guess is that we haven’t heard the last of the controversial decision to turn down federal funds to feed hungry kids. It just sounds bad. Iowans are going to be upset about it and I imagine we’ll see a number of letters to the editor about it. Once we get past the New Year’s weekend and start ramping up for the Iowa legislature to begin, I anticipate it will be the subject of more news stories, and more talking points for Iowa Democrats to question why this decision was made.
The bottom line for news consumers is you can’t ever let your guard down. Stay plugged in, even over the holidays. Because if a government official uses the Friday news dump, it’s probably something you’ll want to know about and that they’ll hoping you’ll be too distracted to notice.
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Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
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Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
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Thank you Dave. I had wondered why she chose to make that announcement right before the holiday weekend. Apparently USDA may be lenient with states that miss January 1 deadline and choose later to participate. I will hope (but not hold my breath hope) that the Iowa Legislature “encourages” Reynolds to do the right thing.
My favorite example was the release of the Culver administration initial bomb of the Iowa Film Tax Credit scandal at @4:56 on a high-school football Friday, though I'm sure you have better ones. Enjoyed the article.