The comments made by BBC World News presenter Nik Gowing (July 6) about the present state of flow patterns concerning information are relevant in India with its plethora of regional languages and media channels. It is a fact that the government remains largely unaware of the mass response to its various initiatives as it has no formal structure to collect and assess the common man's response to various decisions. One of the more popular, and, to a large extent, reasonably representative forums where the reactions of the common people find expression are the “Letters to the Editor” columns of dailies. The Press Information Bureau has been made to conduct public information campaigns that are more conspicuous by the absence of any public participation. It can be more effectively utilised to scrutinise, translate, analyse, collate and report the comments made in the “Letters to the Editor” columns. The ambit of the PIB's scrutiny can later be enlarged to acknowledge new media.
V. Mani Iyer, Coimbatore
