It Being Friday, and Congress Being in Session,

[MineralMan]

2. Well, it's typically dumped early enough in the afternoon

for coverage on the Friday evening and late night news programs on the three major broadcast networks. That way, we can all lose sleep over it tonight and through the weekend.

That way, the Saturday and Sunday news programming can consist of various pundits discussing what the news dump portends for next week. News dumps provide employment for a large number of otherwise unemployable people and ensure that we tune in during times when we might be otherwise occupied. That, in turn, allows advertisers to target specific demographic groups to sell their various wares and services.

It's a self-perpetuating thing.