Although the military has stated that they do not censor news [prior to and during a war] but merely review it, since the invasion of Grenada, in 1983, they have given a clear signal that they will not yield power to the media again. The idea being that you can't very well sneak up on the enemy and out maneuver him if CNN, with cameras rolling, is riding shotgun at the front of your column.
How does this relate to us in Derby? We've been trying, since forever, to bring in a good firm to develop our downtown. There are some strategies used by local government to attract these kinds of developers, and some methods used by the developers to accomplish their work. For example they need to buy land and attract business to their project.
The public, anxious to see some progress after so many years, is understandably wanting a great deal of information about the project's status. It seems obvious that some details would have to be kept from the public, but whenever the withholding of information is sanctioned that opens the door for potential manipulation of the facts.
The above suggests, to me, that clarity cannot be absolute in most cases, especially during war or the negociating of important business deals. The question becomes, rather, how much needs to be shared to safeguard the public's best interests?
No comments:
Post a Comment