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Axios

Business

The evolution of news dumps

Meta Memo Sheryl Sandberg

Note: Readership is defined as the number of unique visitors to an online article in the first 7 days of its publication. Articles were pulled from a representative sample of 83 national, business, and technology publications. Data: Memo; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

In a 24/7 news cycle, the Friday evening news dump — a tactic historically embraced by strategic communicators in government, politics and tech as a means to bury less than stellar news — needs an upgrade.

Why it matters: There is no magic formula for releasing bad news, but identifying readership trends can provide perspective and inform timing.

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