BRANDING: Comment - Why do we continue to allow lunatics to run the ad asylum?

I am not generally given to passionate outbursts about media, but a recent situation left me wondering whether the lunatics are finally running the asylum. We were involved in a pitch for a product that offered a huge opportunity for creative and media collaboration in delivering the product story. Our creative team wanted a meeting with the media team to brainstorm ideas. Imagine their bewilderment when informed that that wouldn't be possible - as our sister independent media agency wasn't the client's independent media agency. The company that was didn't think they should talk to us because it was a pitch situation and it might not be fair. Fair? Fair to whom? To the creatives, who lost a valuable team partner?