All manuscripts accepted for publication in Child Development are subject to a media embargo date. (This is not to be confused with an “author embargo” period, which defines the time period during which authors may not post their manuscript outside of the official Wiley publishing site.) The media embargo allows journalists to review study findings in advance of a journal’s publication, but only with the understanding that no news coverage will take place until the time and day/date specified in the embargo has passed. The media embargo is, essentially, the period between release of information to the media (via any source, including press release) and release of information to the public.
The media embargo ensures two things:
- that the article is available to the public as soon as the media report on it; and
- that all journalists have fair access to the research, including the opportunity to review it in advance of publication for preparation of stronger coverage.
After your paper has been accepted for publication, it will be placed on a queue to be released online in “Early View”—the section of the Wiley website where accepted and edited papers are posted prior to their appearance in an issue of Child Development (which may happen weeks or months after a paper first appears in Early View). The Early View date—the date when your paper goes up on Early View—is also the media embargo date.
If your home institution would like to issue a press release on your paper, please contact the managing editor of Child Development (cdev@srcd.org) to confirm the media embargo date. This media embargo date is subject to change and it is therefore important to always confirm this date with the managing editor.
If you are contacted by a journalist before the media embargo date and speak with him/her about your paper, it is important that you alert the journalist to the media embargo date. This rule applies to all Child Development papers—including those that are featured in SRCD press releases, press releases issued by your home institution, and those that are not featured in press releases.
Time is a critical issue in the news business; reporting a story before other journalists get it is the hallmark of good journalism. But credibility is a critical issue for organizations like SRCD; embargoes assure journalists that we will not favor one reporter over another. SRCD has developed a lot of good will with reporters covering Child Development research, but the future is dependent upon their continued trust in SRCD’s efforts to safeguard media embargo dates.
Thank you for your cooperation.
If you want to confirm your paper’s media embargo date, please contact the managing editor of Child Development at cdev@srcd.org. If you have questions about SRCD’s media embargo policy, or you would like to access media training resources, please contact the SRCD Communications team at communications@srcd.org.