Managing the news refers to acts that are intended to influence the presentation of information within the news media

News media

The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

. The expression managing the news is often used in a negative sense. For example, people or organizations that wish to lessen the publicity concerning bad news may choose to release the information late on a Friday, giving journalists less time to pursue the story. Staying "on message" is a technique intended to limit questions and attention to a narrow scope favorable to the subject.

An example cited by the Communication, Cultural and Media Studies infobase regards a February 1996 Scott Report

Scott Report

The Scott Report was a judicial inquiry commissioned in 1992 after reports of arms sales in the 1980s to Iraq by British companies surfaced. The report was conducted by Sir Richard Scott, then a Lord Justice of Appeal. It was published in 1996...

 on arms sales to Iraq. In the United Kingdom, the report was given early to certain officials.

Sources

• News management entry from the Communication, Cultural and Media Studies infobase, part of Cultsock
• Penny Starr and Fred Lucas. "Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama", CNSnews.com, 1 July 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
• Helen Thomas
  Helen Thomas
  Helen Thomas is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist. She worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press International for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager...
  
  . Watchdogs of democracy?, ISBN 978-0-7432-6781-6. Chapter 5: "Spinning the News".