Advisory Arrives Hours After Vilsack Presser

You know you are not on the A-list when the press advisory is sent to you after the press conference takes place.

That's what one SEJ member experienced — judging from e-mail header time stamps, whose quality as evidence is often considered near-forensic.

The press advisory was for a 2:30 p.m. October 16, 2009, presser with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on global food security. The USDA Office of Communications sent it out at 4:50 p.m. October 16.

Of course, e-mail timestamps can be forged.