RTE's Prime Time - Shooting/licensing to be featured Tuesday night...

patbundy

sparks i would have waited a day or two, good letter though

Our man in Havana

Any point in sending a complaint to the BCC? http://www.bcc.ie

See http://www.bcc.ie/how_to_complaint/what_about.html Notice point A.

Grizzly 45

Sparks,you write one meannn letter.:D
Wonder since thisprogramme segment is so inaccurate,maybe aletter too from all of the Irish shooting community to the broadcasting complaints comission as well???

foxshooter243

could you imagine if reloading was up for discussion:eek:, there would be
IEDs going off on every highway and byway..the slant was to be expected , no great shock..but it does deserve a measured response.

sparks response is well measured......

patbundy

maybe bond just to get it on their list

patbundy

:D:D.loved to see that foxshooter

Our man in Havana

http://www.bcc.ie/how_to_complaint/what_about_impartiality.html

Impartiality and/or fairness and balance in news & current affairs



Broadcasters must ensure that all news broadcast is reported and presented in an objective and impartial manner and without expression of the broadcasters own views.



In its broadcast treatment of current affairs, including matters which are either of public controversy or the subject of current public debate, it is fair to all interests concerned and that the broadcast matter is presented in an objective and impartial manner and without any expression of the broadcasters own views (two or more related broadcasts may be considered as a whole, if the broadcasts are transmitted within a reasonable period of time).

Relevant Section of Broadcasting Act 2001: Section 24(2)(a)

civdef

He's an ex Irish Army Officer which explains his stance. Most Army Officers do not believe that civvies should have 'weapons'.

His reputation amongst his former colleagues is not a good one, based on the way he is felt by many to have turned on them in order to further his "meda expert" career.

His writings on military matters are held in very low esteem by people with any knowledge, and his contribution to the programme tonight was firmly in the same vein.

I can think of a good many army officers who are shooting enthusiasts.

Vegeta

It is amazing, give us a common enemy ( license fee increase) and we do some great work

fat-tony

Watched the programme, read the comments on boards, watched the programme again on SKY+ to try to see it from a layman's point of view.

There was actually very little editorial comment from the reporters or from the programme itself. The interesting thing was that the the filmed report played off Tom Clonan (biased, anti-shooter, pseudo expert - from the shooter's point of view) against Des Crofton (yay, hero of the people, what's all the fuss about - from the shooter's point of view).
Enter - stage left - Paul Anthony McDermott, constitutional lawyer, voice of reason, calling for a single modern gun law 2008. Now here's something we should work on!

Result - maybe some people will get upset at finding out that there are ANY pistols and high-powered rifles in the country. Overall, let's wait and see what transpires on the Joe Fluffy show etc.

foxshooter243

patbundy wrote: »

:D:D.loved to see that foxshooter

yeah this thread is lively:D

patbundy

civdef its the press you have to convince not us

Sparks

Sent to the Irish Times letters page:

Dear Madam,

I have watched Prime Time and it's predecessors for many years now, but until tonight I have never seen it cover a topic I know so well. I'm an Olympic target shooter and have been for fourteen years. I've competed, coached, run competitions. I'm a licenced judge. I've represented my country internationally, and my sport to the government. I say this not to brag, but so that you will understand that I am proferring informed opinion when I say that the coverage of changes in the Firearms Act in Tuesday's Prime Time was excretable rubbish.

The most law-abiding section of Irish society - and the only section of our society where every single person has been deemed to be safe and responsible by the Gardai - has had its name dragged through the mud by the flagship news show of the national broadcaster. This is utterly reprehensible.

Where was the interview with Garreth Byrne of the firearms section of the Department of Justice? Where was the interview with Superintendent Noel Clarke, responsible within the Gardai for the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act's changes to our firearms legislation? Where was the coverage of the recent Firearms Consultative Panel conference, where representatives of the shooting community, the Department of Justice and the Gardai all met to discuss the changes in the firearms legislation and how we would work together to implement them safely and efficiently?

And what on earth possessed your own security correspondant, whose comments bore no resemblence to fact in any shape or form, but which were pure sensationalism from start to finish? I could understand one or two errors, no man is a perfect expert, but every single fact he proferred was grossly in error. From the range of a .308 rifle, to the characteristics of a 9mm pistol, every technical "fact" he proferred was wrong, not by a small amount, but enormously so. And the less technical statements he made would trigger libel lawsuits had they been made at a named individual. Since when is it responsible journalism to state that it is only a matter of time before someone from a group of people will shoot at a schoolyard? The man has made a mockery of himself amongst those with actual knowlege of the subject - the very people whose names he has just spat upon.

How can anyone call this fair and balanced journalism? I dread the flood of letters in the editorial pages of our nation's press from people who have now been terrified by this utter dross, not to mention the coverage which will no doubt ensue on our airwaves, as our name - *my* name - is dragged through the mud over and over again in the days to come.

Yours in abject digust,

patbundy

makes a change foxshooter.:D:D:D,its being dead for the last few weeks

Vegeta

civdef wrote: »

I can think of a good many army officers who are shooting enthusiasts.

Its exactly as you call it civdef, he doesn't do any decent officer who knows their shooting justice.

"the .308 is too big for hunting in Ireland" despite the film clip of a red stag walking around.

thehair

patbundy wrote: »

makes a change foxshooter.:D:D:D,its being dead for the last few weeks

you still alive pat:eek:

Our man in Havana

Any coincidence that this piece comes along so close to FAC renewal season?

Sparks

I think it was more tied to the O'Leary case and the Tuam cases Bond.

patbundy

hairy its hard to kill a bad thing:p

patbundy

true sparks,took them awhile to get around to it

thehair

patbundy wrote: »

hairy its hard to kill a bad thing:p

you cork langer

Sparks

Two to three weeks. Which is about what you'd expect for a TV show's bit piece really.
That letter sent to the Irish Times, Irish Examiner and Irish Independent now.

fat-tony

Sorry, Sparks - can't agree with your broadside to RTE. Tom Clonan was definitely off the wall with his comments but the overall report was balanced with Des Crofton giving the shooter's point of view. Shooting sports are difficult to portray on public media, so we should be encouraging RTE et al to cover our competitions. You were instrumental in getting OB Sports to cover the national smallbore finals last year in Midlands, so we should continue in that vein.

patbundy

Vegeta wrote: »

Its exactly as you call it civdef, he doesn't do any decent officer who knows their shooting justice.

"the .308 is too big for hunting in Ireland" despite the film clip of a red stag walking around.

did that stag looked limped

patbundy

now hairy thats a usefull thing

Vegeta

fat-tony wrote: »

Sorry, Sparks - can't agree with your broadside to RTE. Tom Clonan was definitely off the wall with his comments but the overall report was balanced with Des Crofton giving the shooter's point of view. Shooting sports are difficult to portray on public media, so we should be encouraging RTE et al to cover our competitions. You were instrumental in getting OB Sports to cover the national smallbore finals last year in Midlands, so we should continue in that vein.

well Tom Clonan was spouting straight up lies.

lies and opinion versus fact and logic, balanced reporting does not make [/yoda]

bullets

OK there was no debate? just pieced together snippets.
I thought Prime time would be about questioning people on
both sides of the fence???????

So thats what the Des Crofton dude looks like......
I thought he came across OK and well balanced.
I always thought he would be younger looking.

This Tom Clonan dude Irish Times??? My God totally not balanced.
Off of his rocker and totally biased.
Calling firearms weapons all of the time, the whole Pistol and 9mm. I mean common 9mm even to Law enforcement and military quite honestly would be a dated calibre.

~B

patbundy

hope you get the response sparks but all your going to get is the antihunt which is a shame.tbh i really hope you get more than that;)

Sparks

You and I both Pat, but I'd rather that we got something published in the letters page on the same day that the hunt-sabs get in there for once, rather than playing catch-up two days later when everyone's made up their minds already.

patbundy

scaremongering bullets