Judith Townend reports that a news blogger on the Isle of Wight who asked questions of the local council about a broken lift was told to seek answers by putting in a Freedom of Information request.
As Townend notes, it's a curious approach to media relations.
But it appears that it's a far from uncommon response by local authorities to press inquiries. According to Trinity Mirror's multimedia chief David Higgerson he comes across one or two examples a week.
He regards it as a clever delaying tactic "which can kick a tricky issue into the long grass for 20 days (or longer), by which time the public body involved will hope the media agenda has simply moved on."
Anyone got other examples?
Sources: Judith Townend/David Higgerson
