WSJ released New Zealand budget info before embargo lifted

The Wall Street Journal published information about New Zealand’s budget an hour before the embargo was lifted, which Finance Minister Grant Robertson called “incredibly disappointing,” reports Melanie Carroll and Henry Cooke of Stuff.

Carroll and Cook report, “In a statement issued on Thursday evening, Treasury said it had been proactively informed of the breach just after 1pm.

“It said it took the management of Budget-sensitive information very seriously.

“‘We are extremely disappointed with this serious breach of lock-up protocol. The embargoed information made available to the 200-odd people who attended the event was both restricted and sensitive,’ said deputy secretary budget and public services Struan Little.

“‘We are working with the Wall Street Journal to clarify and understand the action that led to the embargo being breached. Once we are confident that we have established the facts, we will advise the Wall Street Journal of the consequences of their actions.’

“Treasury has also launched an internal investigation, including reviewing whether the existing protocols are fit for purpose.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.