{"id":56639,"date":"2026-04-20T04:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=56639"},"modified":"2026-04-20T04:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:51:08","slug":"gcis-needs-to-understand-needs-of-people-and-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/gcis-needs-to-understand-needs-of-people-and-media\/","title":{"rendered":"GCIS needs to understand the needs of the people and media it serves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>Calls for comment are often not returned, and even full written questions sent via e-mail attract no response, or the callback will come too late for a deadline. <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It is welcome news that the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has been training the government\u2019s communicators \u2013 those people who get paid to disseminate information to, or answer questions from, the media which, in turn, conveys that information to the public. <\/p>\n<p>GCIS deputy director-general Michael Currin told trainees that government communications personnel must navigate an increasingly complex information landscape, particularly in the era of fake news. Currin said communicators are \u201cthe bridge between government and the citizens we serve\u201d \u2013 and we\u2019d like to pause there\u2026 on that radical idea that those employed by the government are serving the rest of us. <\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: GCIS urges communicators to fight fake news trend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are very few government departments in which that ethos is even thought about, never mind being diligently applied every day. Most interactions with civil servants \u2013 and that latter word has more of a mocking than descriptive quality, these days \u2013 are ones fraught with tension as these bureaucratic minions revel in their power over us. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the fact that government communicators are generally considered to be a cut above the level of ordinary civil servants, and despite the fact that their numbers have been seemingly growing at an astounding rate in recent years, they are, with few exceptions, cut from the same cloth as the vindictive person behind a home affairs counter. <\/p>\n<p>Calls for comment are often not returned, and even full written questions sent via e-mail attract no response, or the callback will come too late for a deadline. In many cases, there is little reason for this behaviour, other than a lack of energy or a lack of respect. <\/p>\n<p>What GCIS needs to do is understand the needs of the people \u2013 and media \u2013 it serves. It will find many of us are only too happy to work together. Good communication is good for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#GCIS #understand #people #media #serves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Calls for comment are often not returned, and even full written questions sent via e-mail attract no response, or the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56641,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56639\/revisions\/56641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}