Newsworthy events occur at a moment's notice the prime minister resigns from office, terrorists blow up a jumbo jet, a big business announces bankruptcy, a cyclone hits land. The news media must be ready to cover them all. Sometimes fast-breaking events pull journalists off one story perhaps yours to cover a more important one. The political situation in a country shapes the relationships between the news media and the government and strongly affects how family planning organizations work with journalists. But in many countries the news media are still emerging from a tradition of government control.
Some governments continue to pressure journalists to print what the government wants.
Other journalists are locked in constant struggle with government officials who demand an uncritical and deferential news media. Some governments still resist independent newspapers and try to punish journalists who publicly disagree with official views. Government control over the news media may not adversely affect coverage of family planning. It may even improve coverage if there is a national family planning program or population policy that the government wishes to promote. If family planning is not a priority for the government, however, government control over the news media may mean little or no news at all about it.