Madam, - I refer to Mark Hennessy's interesting article "Whose News is it Anyway?" (Weekend, July 10th) about the Government's Media Monitoring Unit, which circulates daily summaries from the media to ministers and senior civil servants.
In the article he writes that the Media Monitoring Unit was set up "in the aftermath of the 1997 general election" and that "prior to 1997 much of the Government's transcription work was contracted out."
For the record, I introduced this service in 1969 when I was director (1968-1973) of the Government Information Bureau, which combined the administrative functions of Government Information Service and the political ones of Government Press Secretary.
The service was a responsibility of one of my assistant directors and his staff.
On the change of government in 1973 the incoming administration cancelled the service together with other important information programmes. Notable amongst these was Eolas, the comprehensive inter-departmental news bulletin provided free to all media and opinion leaders in the country.
(I recall more than one occasion when both the Evening Press and the Evening Herald alone published two-page inserts consisting only of stories from Eolas). The news service was compiled and edited by the distinguished journalist, Jim Edwards, whose contract was also cancelled.
These initiatives were included in a major submission on Government/public information from me to the Government for the development and professional expansion of the Government Information Bureau.
It included separating the then combined administrative and political responsibilities, the effects of which were often contradictory (and, consequently, sometimes counter-productive), making both services more functionally effective.
The Government accepted these proposals just before the 1973 election.
By and large the incoming administration cancelled this programme of much-needed professional initiative and development.
Some time later, perhaps influenced by the example of Saatchi and Saatchi's regrettable moment of political persuasiveness in Britain, our political leaders also decided to join in the dance of the spin doctors and, by so doing, helped contaminate public perceptions of political leadership in this country for many intervening years. - Yours, etc.,
EOIN NEESON, Blackrock, Co Dublin.