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Have you ever noticed that news stories about papers in Science tend to publish on Thursday afternoons? Stories about Nature papers often appear on Mondays, instead.

That’s no coincidence. It’s because of embargo: scientific journals give journalists copies of upcoming research papers in advance, and in return journalists agree not to publish anything on that research until the embargo “lifts” and the paper is published. Embargo usually lifts on Science papers on Thursdays and on Mondays for Nature papers, explaining the news pattern.

In this post, I’m going to walk through the basics of the science journalism embargo system: what it is, how it works, and how you can use it to find and report stories.

Embargo

Embargo is an agreement between sources and journalists: the source provides information on upcoming news in advance, and the journalist agrees not to publish anything on that news until a certain date.

Theoretically this should be good for everyone. In journalism being “first” is important. And scrambling to be first on a breaking news story can lead to sloppy reporting. So embargo is mutually benficial: the journalists gets longer to work on the story without rushing. For sources, that’s great, because their news is covered more accurately.

The journal embargo system

In science journalism, there are entire systems built up around embargo — specifically around embargoed research papers, which are the basis for hefty chunk of the single-study science news stories you’ll read in most magazines and newspapers.

The big name in embargoed news is EurekAlert. It is a website run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science that grants journalists access to embargoed papers from several journals (often in so-called “press packages” that might feature some recommendations or press releases and other materials), as well as embargoed press releases for upcoming papers from institutions from around the world. The German-speaking scientific world has its own version of EurekAlert called IDW, which also works in English.

Want some help learning to find and pitch science news stories? I offer 1:1 training and support for early-career science writers, both via Zoom and asynchronously if you just want someone to read over a pitch, post, or application. Interested? Get in touch!

Big journals and publishers sometimes have their own portals and press packages that work a bit like EurekAlert, but only for their papers. The Nature and Royal Society journals are the big ones that aren’t on EurekAlert.

Science journalists can sign up for access to embargoed research portals to browse papers and press releases, or get alerts emailed to them directly. Most big science news stories appear in these portals and packages before they end up in the headlines.

Typically, embargoed papers appear in these portals a few days (common) to a few weeks (rare) before publication.

Getting access to embargoed papers

This is honestly a topic for an entire future post, but to make a long story short, there are four main ways to get access to embargoed papers: through portals like EurekAlert, from journals’ press packages, from press officers at institutions, and directly from scientists who trust you.

The last source, scientists, can be a really great way to get exclusive stories that nobody else knows about. Embargoed press release portals like EurekAlert and press packages get seen by a lot of journalists. But if a scientist you trust has a hidden gem for you, you can end up with a nice exclusive — or, even if that study does end up in a press portal, you might end up with a lot more time to work on your story than you’d get through the usual embargo system.

Respecting embargo

If you’re writing about embargoed research, you need to be careful to keep it out of the public eye. Don’t send embargoed papers to anyone without making sure they understand that they’re strictly confidential until the embargo lifts.

Typically, the only people who will need to see an embargoed paper are 1) your editor when you pitch, 2) you, and 3) the outside source you speak to about the study. Your editor will already understand embargo, but be careful about your outside source.

Violating embargo is a big deal. Journals will withdraw your access and your reputation will be damaged. So take it seriously.

Embargoed studies aren’t the only place to look for science news

While the embargo system drives a lot of science news, it is not the only place to go looking for news — even for single-study stories. Personally, I dislike writing about embargoed studies found via EurekAlert or similar systems. The turnaround times are really tight and I find it easier to find stories in my niche through other channels. Most of the embargoed news I cover these days comes directly from scientists giving me a tip about an upcoming study or from a press release sent out by an institution I decided to follow.

If you’re just getting started, you won’t even have access to embargoed stories. To register on embargoed portals, you need to have journalism credentials — that means either working for a media outlet or proving that you’re a freelancer by providing clips.

I recommend getting to know the embargo system, but not feeling trapped by it. If you like finding stories this way, great. But there’s a whole world of science news out there that never passes through an embargo portal.

Have questions? Find me on Bluesky or shoot me an email. If it’s something I can answer quickly, I’m happy to help. Otherwise, I offer training and support for early-career science writers taking their first steps into this field — both 1:1 via Zoom and asynchronously. Check out my website or get in touch for more details.