Information Disclosure Policy: A Toolkit for Pacific Governments (July 2006)
### EXPLANATORY NOTES Government-media relations Relations with the media Most Pacific governments have media units, which operate across the whole-of-government and/or at department level. The PMCF "Informing Citizens" report noted however: "None of the [14] governments surveyed have whole-of-government communications strategies. This means that government communications relies on the commitment, capacity and interest of individual departments and officers to communicate with the media. As a result, the amount and quality of media output across departments is highly variable."35 Strengthening government-media relations need to be an important element of an information disclosure policy, as the media are a key intermediary with the public. Deploying government press/information officials more innovatively, rather than appointing more officers, could promote this objective. Training officials to be effective and responsible communicators - not just public relations officers - will help. The information put out by information officials needs to be accurate and reliable. Throughout the Pacific though, in many countries the relationship between the media and officials is difficult. A key concern has been raised by some officials that the media might use information they obtain irresponsibly. Conversely however, putting more information in the public domain will reduce poor journalism because incorrect facts will be exposed by comparison to original documents and the media will rely less on rumours and leaks. Supporting better media training, developing more professional relationships with journalists and encouraging media self-regulation are other key strategies. Key questions: What mechanisms are currently in place to promote government-media communications? Can these resources be deployed more efficiently to promote more systematic, timely release of key government information? Does the media currently try to access information from government ? If so, what type of information is being requested? If the information is being provided, how is it being used? What training is available for journalists? Does the training include a module on accessing information from government (eg. in order to gather evidence to support their stories)? Authority to issue public statements To ensure the media can access timely and accurate information that can then be conveyed to the public, it is important that there are clear delegations of authority in relation to issuing statement to the media. Some countries have very centralised systems, whereby Ministers are responsible for making media statements and officials are barred from talking to the media. This can cause major breakdowns in communications, particularly where Ministers are not easy to contact, for example, because they are in parliament or with their constituency. Departmental officers need to be identified who will be given the responsibility for making statements - this is more efficient and will promote more regular information disclosure. Key questions: Is there currently a department/agency that is dedicated to releasing press releases to the media or giving information to the public? Is there an official/media forum by which ministers/the prime minister answers public queries? What rank of official is currently permitted to make statements to the media? What is the rationale for this approach? Is it still appropriate? How can the current system be improved to ensure that journalists can easily access information while still ensuring that information and statements which are released are accurate and endorsed by the government? 35PMCF (2005) Informing Citizens, p.22.
Commissioned by the Pacific Media and Communications Facility, an Australian Government, AusAID initiative managed by MDI International in association with MC Media & Associates