Is RTE Homophobic?

Hillel · 28-06-2009 01:03AM #1

Saturday's Gay Pride March attracted a crowd of at least 10,000. By any measure such an event, which stretched the whole length of O'Connell Street, was newsworthy. Yet, not a mention on the early RTE News and a minimal mention at 9. Am I alone in considering this entirely unacceptable behavior from our national broadcaster?

StopNotWorking · 28-06-2009 01:05AM

Not suprised really.. Saying that I heard nothing about the parade until I saw the flags everywhere in town. Was there much advertising done for this?

axer · 28-06-2009 01:15AM

Hillel wrote: »

Am I alone in considering this entirely unacceptable behavior from our national broadcaster?

Yes

Hillel · 28-06-2009 01:25AM

StopNotWorking wrote: »

Not suprised really.. Saying that I heard nothing about the parade until I saw the flags everywhere in town. Was there much advertising done for this?

I don't know, really. It was mentioned in the papers, but was much bigger, and more organised than I expected. Wouldn't think that from the RTE coverage, though!

The_Minister · 28-06-2009 01:26AM

*shrug*
It's a yearly event, not really that much different this year then any other year.

ixoy · 28-06-2009 01:35AM

The_Minister wrote: »

*shrug*
It's a yearly event, not really that much different this year then any other year.

True but they covered Family Day at Leinster House URL="http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0627/oireachtas.html"]link[/URL which is also an Annual event.

I'd have thought it'd have more of a placing this year with the Civil Partnership bill published two days ago.

The_Minister · 28-06-2009 01:41AM

ixoy wrote: »

True but they covered Family Day at Leinster House URL="http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0627/oireachtas.html"]link[/URL which is also an Annual event.

I'd have thought it'd have more of a placing this year with the Civil Partnership bill published two days ago.

Family day is only in it's second year, and given the general attitudes of people currently towards politicians, it is significant that so many people want to see the Dail, and the politicians at work.

As for why civil partnership did not get more recognition, I would imagine it was because most of the gay community didn't seem to welcome the bill at all.

Hillel · 28-06-2009 02:22AM

The_Minister wrote: »

*shrug*
It's a yearly event, not really that much different this year then any other year.

So are football matches, Paddy's day parades, ploughing championships...
It doesn't stop them being covered by RTE.
Yet, a parade of around 10,000 people, is simply ignored. :mad:

Hillel · 28-06-2009 02:45AM

axer wrote: »

Yes

How do you know?

(No, don't tell me, Divine Inspiration.)

Goodnight.

Nehaxak · 28-06-2009 05:46AM

Maybe it's because nobody really cares anymore if you're gay and don't see the need to make a big deal about it. Don't see any annual hetrosexual pride marches, mostly because people wouldn't see any need to advertise their sexuality in the first place on a march. The country has moved on and the vast majority of people in the country don't care any more if you're gay or straight, or dabbling in-between both. Really, we don't care.

Hillel · 28-06-2009 10:02AM

Nehaxak wrote: »

Maybe it's because nobody really cares anymore if you're gay and don't see the need to make a big deal about it. Don't see any annual heterosexual pride marches, mostly because people wouldn't see any need to advertise their sexuality in the first place on a march. The country has moved on and the vast majority of people in the country don't care any more if you're gay or straight, or dabbling in-between both. Really, we don't care.

Yes, thankfully, life has moved on. I have a co-worker who is gay and his arrival caused only passing comment. However, we are a long way from full integration of gay people into society. (I have to declare a personal interest, here.) The refusal of the government to contemplate gay marriage is but one example. Gay men, and transsexuals, are still at risk of physical attack, purely on the basis of their sexuality. Homophobic attitudes still persist in some workplaces. Worst of all, the Catholic Church, which controls most Primary Schools, is still rabidly homophobic. (The hurt this must cause gay catholics, young and old, can only be imagined.)
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_rom.htm
http://www.catholic.com/library/Homosexuality.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/gay_marriage.asp

Not all people who marched yesterday were there to "to advertise their sexuality ". Many were friends and family of gay people who were there to show solidarity and support. But, better still, it was fun. From the outfits, to the Bongo Drums to the little pink dog.... Time passed far more quickly than at many a ST Patrick's Day Parade. Yet, even though it was well flagged in advance, RTE choose to ignore it, in favor of far less well attended events. This can only have been an editorial decision, most likely politically motivated. Even the little they did show concentrated on the tearing up of the Civil Partnership Bill - something most of us didn't even see happening. The coverage in no way reflected the tone, or scale of the parade. (At one stage it filled O'Connell Street, from top to bottom.)

Can you imagine if the parade had been, say, to support farmers fighting for subsidies. Or a welcome home event for an Olympic Boxer. There would have been a outcry if it were not adequate media coverage. (Not that this would be likely to happen.) No, the clear message was that this march was not a matter of public importance, or public interest. I would suggest that the parade was of greater public import than the ordination of three priests!

cnocbui · 28-06-2009 10:43AM

RTE are a branch of the Catholic church, when they are not being an exclusive travel agency for their employees, so it is no surprise really.

Saying Ireland has moved on is a laugh. Check out the coverage the ABC in Oz gives to the Sydney gay pride march.

JonathanAnon · 28-06-2009 11:46AM

Hillel wrote: »

Am I alone in considering this entirely unacceptable behavior from our national broadcaster?

Hang on a minute, what exactly did they achieve? They walked the length of O'Connell Street while being gay. Not exactly newsworthy.

Dozen Wicked Words · 28-06-2009 11:52AM

Now if they had hopped down there it would have been an achievement.

Rowley Birkin QC · 28-06-2009 11:57AM

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Hang on a minute, what exactly did they achieve? They walked the length of O'Connell Street while being gay. Not exactly newsworthy.

:D

Really don't see what the fuss is about to be honest. If the argument is that people are born gay and have no choice in the matter should the City Council not also be supportive of white/black/left handed people/brown eyes Pride Festivals??

asdasd · 28-06-2009 12:03PM

Meh. The search for homophobia. A bit like the search for heretics in the Middle Ages, or Catholicism during the Puritan revolutions.

I dont really care if there are gay marriages, and in fact we should also have Polygamy.

Also there are churches and Mosques and temples who dont like Homosexuality. All of them. They aren't going away either.

So suck it up. I am sure there are plenty of events involving more than the 10K ( probably less) people who marched on Saturday which get the same amount of coverage. Unless there is a riot it is not news. It gets into the second half of the program.

Bottle_of_Smoke · 28-06-2009 12:08PM

The cannabis legalisation march got tv coverage this year and last year, don't think they got a crowd near 10K neither

asdasd · 28-06-2009 12:11PM

The thing got coverage at 9 pm. Also, in other news, Michael Jackson died. I have no idea how RTE covered that - since I am not in Ireland -but if it is the same as the BBC then everything else has taken a backseat.

So, nothing to see here.

Nodin · 28-06-2009 01:42PM

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Hang on a minute, what exactly did they achieve? They walked the length of O'Connell Street while being gay. Not exactly newsworthy.

..walked the length of O'Connell St whilst being openly gay and not attacked. One Friday night southsiders may acheive the same. We can only hope.

JonathanAnon · 28-06-2009 02:34PM

Nodin wrote: »

..walked the length of O'Connell St whilst being openly gay and not attacked

Personally, I find it racist against heterosexuals. I feel ostracized when these big muscley men in pink feather boa's try to ram their message down my throat (no pun intended).

Why cant they just get on with things, instead of blocking up the main street of Dublin bringing traffic to a halt with this pointless exercise. I dont give a fk if you're gay or not, just dont block my path, infringing on MY civil liberties.

ixoy · 28-06-2009 02:46PM

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Personally, I find it racist against heterosexuals.

We're different races? Wow, news to me!

Why cant they just get on with things, instead of blocking up the main street of Dublin bringing traffic to a halt with this pointless exercise.

Because one of the points being made is that we can't get on with things as they are because it'd be on an unequal basis.

I dont give a fk if you're gay or not, just dont block my path, infringing on MY civil liberties.

Better cancel the St. Patrick's Day Parade then - it'd infringe on my civil liberties to cross O'Connell Street...

JonathanAnon · 28-06-2009 02:55PM

ixoy wrote: »

We're different races? Wow, news to me!

Always happy to enlighten you.

ixoy wrote: »

Better cancel the St. Patrick's Day Parade then - it'd infringe on my civil liberties to cross O'Connell Street...

St. Patricks Day is for EVERYONE, not for a minority, so that's not really a relevant argument.

mike65 · 28-06-2009 02:57PM

Whats politics got to do with this anyway.

keefg · 28-06-2009 03:08PM

Hillel wrote: »

Not all people who marched yesterday were there to "to advertise their sexuality "

I disagree........the clue is in the name. Otherwise it would be called the Gay Rights parade

.

asdasd · 28-06-2009 03:10PM

I think I need to re-iterate the point I made earlier with some additions.

This Saturday:

1) MicHael Jackson was dominating the news.
2) Loyalists de-commissioned.

All in all a big day. The gheys should've planned it better. I suggest another parade in early August - the silly season. Of course you dont know whats going to happen in terms of deaths of famous people, but it's generally a time of little real news.

copacetic · 28-06-2009 03:13PM

So I'm now homophobic for having no interest in whether someone is gay or straight?
Good to know.

Blarggggh · 28-06-2009 03:18PM

Jesus lads grow up. Your gay, so what. You had a march and you want the hold world to stop and look. What makes gay people so special, I always thought they were the same as everyone else. Maybe Im missing something. The parade got a mention on the news. What did you want. The Sydney paradae is a massive event with carnavals and what not. You walked the lenght of O Connell St. Organise something better next year and then maybe you might get the lead story. But I dont think loyalist decommisioning should take a back seat on the news to a gang of guys and girls having a stroll down O Connell St.

Blarggggh · 28-06-2009 03:19PM

If anything I think it shows how much Ireland has progreseed in that last few years that RTE didnt regard it as a lead story.

Hillel · 28-06-2009 03:34PM

I started this thread to start a debate on the editoral direction within RTE – specifically the decision to downplay the Gay Pride series of events. I consider RTE's coverage to be biased and politically motivated. Does anyone share that view?

To respond to some of the other posts:

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Hang on a minute, what exactly did they achieve? They walked the length of O'Connell Street while being gay. Not exactly newsworthy.

Hang on yourself.

It was a parade from Parnell Square to the Civic Offices. What does any parade achieve?
It was part of a festival to “celebrate diversity and challenge peoples' perceptions of (gay people).
It was part of a worldwide “Gay Pride Weekend”. 700,000 attended an event in Paris, 550,000 in Berlins. Many 100's of thousands attended similar events in other countries. None of this was considered newsworthy by RTE.

bigkev49 wrote: »

Really don't see what the fuss is about to be honest. If the argument is that people are born gay and have no choice in the matter should the City Council not also be supportive of white/black/left handed people/brown eyes Pride Festivals??

Read the thread! AFAIK the City Council were extremely supportive. The issue is the blatant lack of coverage of a substantial event by RTE, the national broadcaster. Instead much smaller events were given far greater exposure.

asdasd wrote: »

So suck it up.

I take it you are not sympathetic, then.

asdasd wrote: »

I am sure there are plenty of events involving more than the 10K ( probably less) people who marched on Saturday which get the same amount of coverage. Unless there is a riot it is not news. It gets into the second half of the program.

It wasn't mentioned at all on the 6 o'clock news. It got a very brief mention on the 9pm bulletin. Meanwhile a small demonstration about Crumlin Hospital got extensive coverage, as did the ordination of three Roman Catholic priests.

asdasd wrote: »

The thing got coverage at 9 pm. Also, in other news, Michael Jackson died. I have no idea how RTE covered that - since I am not in Ireland -but if it is the same as the BBC then everything else has taken a backseat.
So, nothing to see here.

A thing??? Weren't in the country, didn't see the parade, didn't see the news. How could you possibly know what there was, or wasn't, there to see?

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Personally, I find it racist against heterosexuals. I feel ostracized when these big muscley men in pink feather boa's try to ram their message down my throat (no pun intended).

Why cant they just get on with things, instead of blocking up the main street of Dublin bringing traffic to a halt with this pointless exercise. I dont give a fk if you're gay or not, just dont block my path, infringing on MY civil liberties.

Out of sight, out of mind, eh?
Attitudes like this are precisely why Gay Pride Parades are necessary – and why gay people have to fight for media coverage of their events. A coverage that other groups, mainstream and minority, take for granted.
I hope it stays fine for you.

Blarggggh wrote: »

Jesus lads grow up. Your gay, so what.

Not that I am aware of. (But then, again, maybe we both are. Sexuality is a complex issue.)

Blarggggh wrote: »

What makes gay people so special, I always
thought they were the same as everyone else.

That we can agree on.

Blarggggh wrote: »

Maybe Im missing something. The parade got a mention on the news. What did you want. The Sydney paradae is a massive event with carnavals and what not. You walked the lenght of O Connell St. Organise something better next year and then maybe you might get the lead story. But I dont think loyalist decommisioning should take a back seat on the news to a gang of guys and girls having a stroll down O Connell St.

You are!.

The parade was far more than a small group of people walking down O'Connell St. It was a substantial event in the heart of the capital city. It was well presented, well attended, entertaining and very well supported. RTE's coverage did not reflect this. That is my concern. I would have the very same concern were any event of a similar scale censored by RTE.

asdasd · 28-06-2009 03:46PM

A thing??? Weren't in the country, didn't see the parade, didn't see the news. How could you possibly know what there was, or wasn't, there to see?

Let me be even more clear. Read slowly.

What is defined as news on any one day changes depending on what else happens. If the sainted Gay parade happened on Sept 11th 2001 it would have gotten no mention whatsoever. In fact real news was buried that day.

People marching is not news. It is a magazine story. The Michael Jackson story would dominate ( I think to too much a degree but he was extraordinary famous) and the decommisionning by loyalists would be the biggest news event.

And many marches are not covered until 9 O'Clock for logistical reasons. The report may have not been edited.

So stop your incessent More-PC-Than-Thou whining. And get on with your life. The modern version of Disgusted-From-Tunbridge is just as banal and boring as the older version.

A coverage that other groups, mainstream and minority, take for granted.

Nonsense. There are plenty of gatherings of people of 10K ( your estimate) or more around the country at festivals, fleadhs, trekkie conventions which get the same kind of coverage, if any, on a busy news day. A few minutes near the end.

mollzer · 28-06-2009 03:50PM

In one way I agree with Blargggh, that it shows how much Ireland has moved on that a Pride parade isnt news worthy, but the LGBT minority need to be newsworthy to help with gaining full equality.

Yes isnt it great that most of the posters on here couldnt give a sh*t about peoples sexuality, and think LGBT people shouldnt be parading around letting everyone know about being gay. But unfortunately you are in the minority, otherwise all gay couples would have the choice to hold hands walking down a street in Dublin, or kiss in public, just like our hetrosexual brothers/sisters/friends etc.

Pride parades give LGBT people an opportunity to be who they are, to hold hands, to kiss in public without fear! to enjoy the freedom that eludes them otherwise!

Do you posters know what it feels like to be harrasssed (or attacked)for being hetrosexual?

Do you know what it feels like to NOT have the choice to be your life partners next of kin? ie get married.

All we want is equality, to have the choice, just like hetrosexuals.
Its hetrosexuals that are stopping homosexuals from being equal, hence its only the LGBT community who are parading around about their sexuality once a year and hoping it makes the news.

Is RTE Homophobic?

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