Meaningful communication should work both ways

Newspapers receive invitations to events from all manner of offices and organizations throughout the course of their work.

This particular invitation, from the President of the Republic, stands out for its charming wording, which prompts us to make a point.

Besides pointing out that our presence at the event -a presentation on a new Economic and Financial plan at the time of Covid-19 -would give the President pleasure, the invitation makes a pertinent point.It states that the Office of the President “recognizes the importance of the media in the dissemina-tion of accurate information to the public in a timely manner”. Great admission.

Would the same Office of the President, we wonder, also recognize that while we’re useful in helping to disseminate their information, there are occasions when it’s our turn to require information from their office, and that, by the same admission, they should extend to us the same courtesy.We say this because in the process of obtaining information essential for our readers, newspapers need the same cooperation from the office in question, be it through a phone call, an email, or indeed, a pertinent question in a press conference.

A typical case of “lanmen gos i lav lanmen drwat” and vice versa.

So, much as we appreciate this gracious invitation accompanied with these gracious words, which we accept graciously, we look forward to a gracious reciprocation of disposition in return, when the opportunity arises.