tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711474060981003322.post7034457520090571030..comments2023-12-05T02:44:04.034-08:00Comments on James Ricketson: open letter to Tim Burrows, editor of EncoreJames Ricketsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366597246927581660noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711474060981003322.post-32838803918366359552012-06-07T06:48:30.824-07:002012-06-07T06:48:30.824-07:00The editorial in today’s Sydney Morning Herald ech...The editorial in today’s Sydney Morning Herald echoes what Ricketson writes here and elsewhere in his blog:<br /><br />A culture of accountability and transparency – and the presumption that, unless public welfare overwhelmingly demands it, secrecy and concealment serve the incompetent, the misguided or the dishonest – needs public endorsement as much as it does statutory authority. Without the former, the latter is of questionable value.<br /><br />It seems likely that Australians are thinking more about the consequences of secrecy and are more sceptical of excuses used to justify it. They’re less trusting because they reckon they’ve been burnt too often…Governments naturally see themselves as potential losers in loosening the muzzle. The way they see it, one can never be sure where an allegation might lead. The emphasis can led to what PR types like to call issues management – the massaging of reality to the point of public reassurance built on selective information. If people aren’t encouraged to pursue truth, how else will will abuse and dishonesty be exposed? The powerful always are tempted to pull down the blind.<br /><br />Screen Australia has ‘pulled down the blind’. That is the real underlying problem of which Ricketson’s banning is merely a symptom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com