"The Government approaches openness on the basis of improving how government operates, for the benefit of the public. Many sections of the press do not approach it in that way. Instead, many approach it on the basis of what gives them most information exclusive to their journalistic outlet.... The job of the Government is not to provide page leads for the papers, but information for the citizen. Freedom of information was never considered to be, and for our part will never be considered to be, a research arm for the media."The phrase, "they don't like it up'em" springs to mind doesn't it?
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Lord Falconer announces the Restriction of Information Act
Yesterday, the Lord Chancellor put forward his arguments at Lord Williams of Mostyn memorial lecture for why the rules governing the Freedom of Information need reviewing and tightening.
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5 comments:
...when we've got them on the run........ who do you think you are kidding.....
are you talking to me?
In other words, they want to control what is printed in the Press.
Because if you are I don't understand what you mean.
What Falconer says in the qutoed paragraph is OK, but what he proposes is not (and it's not even a logical conclusion from what he said). Irritation from the press is just part of the cost of doing business as government, regardless of how open you are; when you are open, though, the population benefit.
Journalists are like sewerage workers (they are probably called 'sewerage engineers' now); you might not want to shake hands with some of them, but we're often glad they're there, because without them, we'll all end up knee-deep.
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