Too hush-hush

It seems that in a bid to ensure positive coverage in the media, the government is stepping into uncharted territory. Recently, a media briefing on the recommendations of a high-level committee was cancelled at the last minute after it was decided that the recommendations should not be made public, even though the head of the panel was keen to discuss its suggestions with the media to generate a positive public debate. This left the field open to all sorts of speculative articles in the media, sometimes unverified, sometimes incorrect.