Friday 21 September 2007

Petition Power through Publicity


Journalists are always looking for stories and editors need copy: How about ranking the "Top 10 Petitions" each week and listing "New Petitions of the Week"?

It seems to me that, unless encoded in the parliamentary process (as with the Scottish Parliament), petitions may be "lost" in the system. However, the media can give them power through publicity, increasing the numbers signing, or inspiring others to create counter-petitions against the proposal. With more names, petitions become more powerful and journalists may question politicians on how they take into account the views expressed therein, further expanding the debate.

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