a question

Hi,

Could anyone help me with the underlined sentences? I don't quite understand.

Miller (1993,1994), in his research into media portrayals of the conflict in Northern Ireland during 'the Troubles', argues that current affairs and documentaty programmes were frequently regarded by government officials as the most difficult to manage:

It is precisely for this reason that official agencies attempts to elucidate the exact nature of queries and even of proposed programmes before permitting access. The access that is granted is heavily bounded by the interests of the sources, but in the end they are betting on slightly longer odds with hard news stories, which have less space and time and are less likely to do investigative reports.

Thanks a lot.

[Tdol]

It is precisely for this reason that official agencies attempts to elucidate the exact nature of queries and even of proposed programmes before permitting access. The access that is granted is heavily bounded by the interests of the sources, but in the end they are betting on slightly longer odds with hard news stories, which have less space and time and are less likely to do investigative reports.

It means that the authorities tried to find out what the programmes were about, or what the queries were before allowing access, which was restricted according to the programme makers' interests. However, they were less strict with hard news stories, as they are less thoroughly researched.