A press title, what more a gossip weekly, apologizing for breaking the scoop of the year? Pacific Magazines, publisher of the Australian magazine New Idea, said it regretted having broken the story about Prince Harry's deployment in Afghanistan.

It also said it wasn't aware an embargo existed, as was the case for many British news editors.

The story published by New Idea stayed on the magazine website until it was reprinted by German title Bild, picked up by the Drudge Report, and finally made public in the UK media.

However, the Guardian takes a critical stance towards New Idea's decision:

"No one in editorial checked the cuttings - had they done so they would have seen that not a word had been printed elsewhere about the prince's deployment, and that might have alerted them to check the story with the Ministry of Defence to verify that it was true."

But, as pointed out by a senior source at the magazine, it's hard to imagine the MoD didn't prepare for this scenario, and the story illustrates the difficulty of keeping a news embargo in the digital age (although the 10-week duration of the embargo also showed that mainstream media still have a powerful grip over the news agenda).

"The British press was on a voluntary news blackout but I'd be surprised if any other publication in Australia or elsewhere in the world was aware of it. This illustrates the challenge of marrying this kind of embargo with the 21st-century media."

The Guardian wonders "about who will carry the can at New Idea." But should anybody? Let us know your thoughts.

Source: Guardian