PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

If you ever have been in the news or media relations business, you know about the axiom referred to in the headline for this blog.

The intention: Dump bad news on a Friday when reporters may not be paying as much attention as they would be during the week.

This used to be more true in the past than it is today. That’s because there used to be something called a “24-hour news cycle.” What happened on one day would be the subject of news coverage the next.

No longer. With rampant social media, there is a second-by-second news cycle, if there is a cycle at all.

Still, some practitioners in the media relations business may believe that dumping bad or controversial news on Fridays makes some sense if you want to limit coverage. At least it is more difficult for reporters to feed off each other if they are away for a weekend or if their replacements are on the job.

Consider the Trump Administration.

Writing for the Washington Post, James Hohmann recently commented on the Friday “trash news” day for the Administration.

“Every administration sees the end of the work week as trash day, the best time to get bad stories out of the way with as little public notice as possible. Fewer people read Saturday papers, cable viewership drops off and it’s harder to get newsmakers on the phone to react.

“The Friday news dump is one of the few norms Trump has embraced. It’s the rare illustration of his self-discipline and an ability to not succumb to a preternatural yearning for instant gratification.

“In classic Trumpian fashion, he’s also taken the time-honored tradition to a whole new level. Stories that the White House hoped wouldn’t grow legs, especially related to personnel, have dropped nearly each of the past 51 Fridays.”

Based on my own background, either in media relations, or as a lobbyist, I often also counseled releasing bad news on Fridays.

One example occurred back in my days at the Oregon Department of Human Resources. When a decision was made by the director to fire the administrator of the then-called Children’s Services Division, we announced the decision on a Friday, thus avoiding the intensity of news as reporters wrote about the issue over a weekend when readership or viewership was down and it was more difficult to gather reactions to the decision.

Now, is all of this good or bad policy? I say neither. The tactic is simply a recognition of a reality of the news business – or perhaps a past reality.

Today, it matters less with a continual news cycle. So, as readers or listeners, the advice is to stay connected no matter the day of the week.