Investigative journalist Jaafar Jaafar has addressed the controversy surrounding the alleged leaking of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent speech. He clarified that the practice of providing media houses with the president’s speech before delivery is a longstanding tradition, known as an “embargoed speech” in journalistic terms. This allows media outlets to thoroughly analyze the content and prepare their coverage for simultaneous publication and circulation with the president’s actual delivery.
Jaafar emphasized that the president’s speech was not leaked, as some have claimed. He explained that media houses are routinely given the speech in advance to enable them to dissect the content and provide readers with in-depth analysis and hot news at the time of the president’s delivery.
In his tweet, Jaafar stated, “The president’s speech was not leaked. Traditionally, media houses are given the president’s speech/address before delivery. In journalistic parlance, it’s called ’embargoed speech’ because it cannot be published and circulated before the president’s delivery. The reason behind this is to enable media houses, especially newspapers, dissect and analyse the content of the speech to readers, publish and circulate the copies with the hot news at the time of president’s delivery.”
The practice of providing embargoed speeches to media outlets is a common protocol observed by governments worldwide. It allows journalists to prepare comprehensive coverage and ensures that the president’s message reaches the public in a timely and informed manner. Jaafar’s clarification aims to dispel any misconceptions about the alleged leaking of the speech and shed light on the standard journalistic practices surrounding such events….Sêe_Morê