A New Day

There was plenty of reaction to the 8 p.m. TV news report on the final day of President Gayoom's trip to Sri Lanka and India, and his return to the Maldives capital, Male.
Without going into details, I am delighted to announce that the outcome was of historic importance: official support for the editorial independence of TV Maldives when reporting on the president. No more handing out lengthy press releases and videos and expecting them to air in their entirety.
This time the discussion lasted much of the night and into the next day and went all the way to the top of the government. Now the challenge will be for the president's office and the media to test and develop this new relationship. A good start would be the daily release of the president's schedule to the TV and radio assignment desks for planning purposes.