When is the best time to cross the news threshold?

The news threshold is crossed when a story is published in the media. However, the height of the threshold varies from day to day and has recently been exceptionally high with the rise in interest rates and the war in Ukraine. Still, a skilled communicator knows when to try to cross the threshold - and, more importantly, when not to.

Let's start with a real-life example.

In autumn 2015, I did media communications for an event. It was interesting journalists, as a couple of media outlets published a preview of the event. However, most journalists understandably wanted to come and do their stories on the spot at the event itself.

Everything looked good on the eve of the event. Until around half past ten in the evening, when a tragic series of terrorist attacks in Paris began, killing more than 130 people. The next day it took up press space - and the time of the journalists on Saturday shift.

In the end, no journalists came to our event, because that Saturday's terrorist attacks in Paris raised the news threshold sky high. On almost any other news day, our event would have crossed the threshold and been covered by the media. For, in contrast to the world-changing days, there are always quiet moments when the news threshold can be very low

Can you predict the height of the news threshold?

Recently, the news threshold has been dominated by the koruna and the war in Ukraine, which have alternately taken up most of the Finnish media space. Many journalists have had to ask themselves whether, in the midst of serious news, it is a good time to try to cross the news threshold with something a little more light-hearted? Or is it just smarter to wait for a better time to break the news?

The difficulty in waiting is that it is ultimately impossible to predict when the news threshold will rise and fall. There can always be a new piece of surprising information - i.e. news - at the very moment when your release goes out to the media. At worst, it could be a terrorist attack, for example. And at best... well, good big news is rarely surprising, but let's take Martti Ahtisaari's Nobel Prize and Lord Lord's Eurovision victory.

Still, you can often make educated guesses about the height of the news threshold: in the case of the corona pandemic, the signs of danger were in the air around the world long before the situation exploded in Finland. We also heard warnings about the escalating situation in Ukraine for weeks before full-scale war broke out.

However, many other events that fill the media space and raise the news threshold to the sky are also quite easy to predict. For example, the big election dates are on the calendar years in advance, so a competent spokesperson leaves the media in the dark. On the other hand, it's not worth approaching sporting events when the summer Olympics or other major events lasting weeks are on the agenda. And in general, big economic news should be timed for a time other than the turn of the year.

Unless you are deliberately trying to avoid media attention. Indeed, it is not unusual to publish a (often legally required) press release that discredits the sender. by coincidence late on a Friday afternoon, when weekday office hours are just about to end and most journalists are about to leave for the weekend.

You can check the height of the news threshold in the calendar

Often, a simple glance at the almanac is enough to assess the news threshold. The news threshold is always linked to the resources of the editors. With the exception of sports editors, the majority of journalists work on weekdays. And while there is no shortage of space on the internet, there is no shortage of space in the paper or on the 8.30 news. That's why the media also try to predict the future. For example, the Sunday edition of a newspaper is often 75% complete by Friday.

The news threshold is traditionally lowest on Monday morning, when editorial staff and media space are at their peak. This is the best time to get to grips with new news stories, and it is easy to turn a good idea into a larger story.

On the other hand, weekdays always see the highest number of releases, and therefore the most competition for media space. This is why the threshold for smaller - and from a journalist's point of view quick and easy to work with - news items can be lowest on a weekend day, when the journalist updating the web has to search for new items to cover.

By the way, weekdays are not brothers, especially in media where the publication date is not every day. In the case of local papers published on Mondays and Thursdays, the news threshold is highest on Sunday and Wednesday - and lowest when the "old" paper has just been published. In different sectors, the news threshold may still be determined by the publication dates of the leading newspaper: the Kauppalehti is published on weekdays, the Urheilulehti on Wednesdays and the Seiska on Fridays.

And of course, even seven-day newspapers are not published 365 days a year. In keeping with tradition, the news threshold in Finland is at its highest on Christmas Eve. On the other hand, in the summer - when Finland is on holiday but the media is not - the news threshold is at its lowest.

Siksi when sending out a press release or when calling a journalist it's always worth checking what's happening around the world first - or at least looking at the calendar.