Media - Name and Shame

Silentcorner

I think it is about time we started a dedicated thread to the shameful Irish media treatment of this city.

What prompted me to start this thread was when I returned from town I couldn't get any reports on the event I had just experienced, with no mention on the main evening news on RTE, I turned to the Indo and not only was there no mention of the event either there was a Limerick related story. See below

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gangland-threat-women-enjoy-gay-pride-parade-30567132.html

This "news organisation" cannot go a week/10 days (sometimes multiple stories over the same period)without some mention of gangland Limerick, I have been watching it since the start of the year, to see what would get more coverage, the Dundons or Limerick City of Culture...the Dundons are winning on that score hands down.

Barry Duggan (the reporter, is a Limerick man for the record) I have read at least 3 gangland related stories on this website over the last 10 days.

A quick search online turned up the following

http://www.sundayworld.com/search?q=dundon there are over 6 stories related to Gangland Limerick over the last two weeks alone...

http://www.irishmirror.ie/search/simple.do?destinationSectionId=5991&publicationName=irishmirror&sortString=publishdate&sortOrder=desc&sectionId=5988&articleTypes=+news+opinion+advice&pageNumber=1&pageLength=5&searchString=Dundon

6 stories over the last month.

There hasn't been a serious gangland incident in this city since Jan 2011.

This has to stop.

The above website's would have hundreds of thousands of visitors every day.

I didn't want to start this but where else can the people of this city turn to.

washman3

Don't expect that pathetic bunch in RTE to have a good news story about Limerick. They are far too busy at the moment cheerleading a property bubble in south Dublin and claiming it as a 'national success' for the government.
Even had the equally pathetic Joan Burton on LLS last night. Their fascination with the Labour Party is mind-boggling. Maybe a TV licence fee increase is about to be approved, thus leading to a pay increase for their Golden Circle.
Tens of thousands in the city yesterday and today and barely a word about it.
Shameful.!!

michael999999

washman3 wrote: »

Don't expect that pathetic bunch in RTE to have a good news story about Limerick. They are far too busy at the moment cheerleading a property bubble in south Dublin and claiming it as a 'national success' for the government.
Even had the equally pathetic Joan Burton on LLS last night. Their fascination with the Labour Party is mind-boggling. Maybe a TV licence fee increase is about to be approved, thus leading to a pay increase for their Golden Circle.
Tens of thousands in the city yesterday and today and barely a word about it.
Shameful.!!

Interesting post considering Willie Fianna fail o dea is still topping the polls in limerick!

washman3

michael999999 wrote: »

Interesting post considering Willie Fianna fail o dea is still topping the polls in limerick!

That's mainly a personal vote rather than a FF vote. If Willie decided not to run next time round FF would only receive a fraction of that vote.

Poxyshamrock

RTE covered the giant on the lunchtime, 6.1 and 9 o'clock news on Friday. I wouldn't expect them to cover it again.

The Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/25-foot-giant-grandmother-runs-amok-on-limerick-streets-1.1919334

Irish Independent
http://m.independent.ie/photos/giant-granny-brings-gullivers-travels-to-limerick-30565003.html

The Irish Mirror
http://www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/arts-culture-news/giant-granny-stops-limerick-traffic-4172204

Frankly, I think you're being quite negative in looking for negatives about the event.

vkid

Not sure what the OP was expecting but I think it has got some very good coverage. RTE, I would imagine will cover her leaving the city today. Also, the Sunday Independent this piece today

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/feefifofum-giant-captivates-150000strong-crowd-30567394.html

Swiper the fox

Exactly, this isn't the Queen or the Pope, RTE are not going to report her every move. There was more than adequate coverage right across the media on friday and hopefully her departure will be reported also.

juneg

Edited: I have just looked back on player at Friday's six one news on RTE Player and Granny was one of the Headline items, It can be seen at 45:17 as the final novelty item. Hope it might be on again tonight
A lot of time would have to be allocated to Tipp and Kilkenny supporters as this is the All Ireland final weekend.

http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10320905/

Silentcorner

There was a reason I didn't even name the event I was at (as obvious as it may of seemed) I didn't have a huge problem with the coverage.

If the event was on in Cork or Waterford it would have gotten the same treatment.

The reason I started the thread was because of the volume of gangland Limerick stories that have appeared in the last month, which in my opinion is beyond ridiculous, 12 different stories in the last month alone, on sites with combined readerships of over 1,000,000 Irish readers.

The idea was that we could post links to this ongoing assault on the city, maybe then people can make up their own minds whether the coverage is warranted or not.

Kess73

To be honest I think living in Limerick means that local people pick up on the negative articles about Limerick and skim over the ones about other cities.

I would be in Galway and Cork every week, and the latter in particular seems to get a similar amount of negative press (something that seems to have a similar effect on some locals as this thread suggests it has on Limerick locals)



And the exact same list of papers gets mentioned if you ask a Cork person about all the gangland articles and what not.

The Sunday World, The Independent, The Mirror, and various other red tops all get named. And yes I did include the Independent in with the red tops because it really is well on the way to becoming one in terms of quality of content.


When it comes to tabloids or tabloids that pretend to be broadsheets, one simple fact always needs to be kept in mind. They do not look to publish the truth, they look to publish what they think will cause their paper to be bought, which in turn will attract advertising revenue.


I do understand folks getting annoyed by blatant attempts by the media to generate hits at the expense of certain cities, and I do think that it is morally wrong for any publisher to do business in such a manner, but then again take a look at tabloid sales here in Limerick. There is obviously an audience for the kind of tattle that those papers sell, and Limerick is no different to any other Irish city or town in terms of having folk that lap that kind of thing up.

Silentcorner

Kess to be fair, they are now reporting on what an ex ganster's ex girlfriend is getting up to of a Saturday afternoon. I don't think the treatment of Cork compares to that of Stab City....the coverage I outlined is only the tip of the iceberg, if you can show me 12 similar stories on gangland Cork over the same period I might agree with you...

I do understand that we are sensitive here in Limerick, but ask yourself why? For me it is because I am aware of the very real economic cost of all that. You are a businessman, could your business sustain 12 negative stories about your business, I think not. We are up against probably 30 years of this nonsense.

Kess73

I am not saying that Limerick does not receive a disproportionate amount of negative media attention, imho of course, but I genuinely do not think that Limerick is in anyway unique in that respect. Bad news sells papers, and BS sells even more units.

I'm from Liverpool so I know well the impact a negative media campaign can have on the image of a city, and as someone who is directly involoved with the HJC and who lost family at Hillsborough, I am very keenly aware of what sort of long term damage media lies can do.


But everytime a copy of the Sunday World, The Star or whatever paper you might chose to name gets sold here in Limerick, that only helps to reinforce the view that what they are pedalling sells and that Limerick people are amongst those who buy what those papers have to say.


.

CatFromHue

The Dundons are a big story, one of the biggest countrywide for a good while now.

Right up there with Gilligan but there's more aspects (and people) to them so they'll be covered more.

Pure Mule

I used to buy the Sunday Independent but stopped years ago after an account by a script writer I would have known of a handbag snatch in the city which I thought portrayed a view that pandered to sensationalism and stereotyping.

Silentcorner

Pure Mule wrote: »

I used to buy the Sunday Independent but stopped years ago after an account by a script writer I would have known of a handbag snatch in the city which I thought portrayed a view that pandered to sensationalism and stereotyping.

I used to buy Pheonix magazine, but I found their excessive use of the citys nickname Stab City to be in poor taste. To be honest when media outlets use the term they therefore allow everyone else to use it. I miss the magazine but last January it went way overboard with it.

Silentcorner

Same headline that appeared on the Indo Sat night is now headline on the Sunday World.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/detectives-follow-super-witness-april-collins-into-pink-club

Over 1,000,000 million readers of these websites.

Like I said in my OP I didn't want to start this thread, hopefully it will die a death, but this is Limerick Gangland story no 13 in the last few weeks. Ridiculous.

wired117

Media campaign in Ireland is to look down on limerick, every wk some nonsense inflated story. It really is pathetic when so many positives in Limerick.

wired117

Another nonsense one front page of business section. http://m.independent.ie/business/world/libya-earns-millions-thanks-to-limerick-companys-oil-find-30584823.html

zombieHanalei

Silentcorner wrote: »

Same headline that appeared on the Indo Sat night is now headline on the Sunday World.

http://www.sundayworld.com/top-stories/crime-desk/detectives-follow-super-witness-april-collins-into-pink-club

Over 1,000,000 million readers of these websites.

Like I said in my OP I didn't want to start this thread, hopefully it will die a death, but this is Limerick Gangland story no 13 in the last few weeks. Ridiculous.

Unfortunately, the papers are only interested in writing/printing stories that people are actually interested in, red top newspapers are absolute trash but they thrive because a lot of people love trash. I don't like what they're doing but I don't blame them, only giving people what they want. End of the day all that matters to them is shifting papers in the shops and ad revenue from drawing visitors to their web pages.

Silentcorner

zombieHanalei wrote: »

Unfortunately, the papers are only interested in writing/printing stories that people are actually interested in, red top newspapers are absolute trash but they thrive because a lot of people love trash. I don't like what they're doing but I don't blame them, only giving people what they want. End of the day all that matters to them is shifting papers in the shops and ad revenue from drawing visitors to their web pages.

I am aware of how the media operates, and you are right the red tops (plus the Indo are trash). But that does not excuse the fact that they are purposely pursuing a damaging narrative toward this city. 13 gangland related stories in the space of a few weeks, in a city that hasn't recorded a serious gangland incident in nearly 4 years is excessive, they are purposely ignoring serious gangland issues in other cities particularly Dublin (Dublin is always going to have the most serious issues on account of the fact that it is by a distance the largest city).

A poster mentioned the Dundons being a big story, but they have been made the big story, I never heard of Christopher Zambra until he was murdered earlier in the year, this guy would have been tabloid gold, extremely violent, an ex footballer and an aspiring musician, but nobody knew of him...our criminals are national household names....they even (pathetically)got a mention in the following report.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/mob-boss-christopher-zambras-final-3522597

This feeds that ugly nickname we were given, it prevents the cities other facets (culture,business,sport,politics,history) from entering the national conscious, Irish people associate this city with one ugly facet only, they have then projected that illusion onto people all over this world. The cost of that nickname cannot be quantified, because no city in the world has had to recover from such a damaging disgusting name, that name even to this day is used by media outlets. The purpose of this thread, I hope, is to highlight that continuing assault.

Lady Chatterton

I really like this article by Billy Keane, not all hacks have bad things to say about Limerick.


I particularly like the last paragraph

This is the story of a city that has fought back from the abyss. The city of Roy Collins, who was murdered by violent men. His family fled for their own safety but came home because Limerick was a city worth fighting for.

But Limerick is as safe for the visitor as any other city in Ireland. The welcome, though, exceeds all others.

I can think of no better place for the playing of a big game.

It is us who should be grateful. Than you Limerick for having us.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/billy-keane/limerick-deserves-this-game-its-a-sporting-city-worth-fighting-for-30548260.html

Silentcorner

MrsD007 wrote: »

I really like this article by Billy Keane, not all hacks have bad things to say about Limerick.


I particularly like the last paragraph



http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/billy-keane/limerick-deserves-this-game-its-a-sporting-city-worth-fighting-for-30548260.html

The columnists have been a little kinder to the city in recent months, I will say that, (http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/david-mcwilliams/limerick-has-a-spring-in-its-step-and-riches-await-the-people-who-tap-into-its-potential-30189863.htm0l) and every little helps, but as the headline in the Indo last Saturday evening suggests, they are not done with us yet. There is no other way of putting this, but there is a very peculiar relationship between this city and the national press, this city has paid a massive price for that relationship.

Iranoutofideas

One thing I have witnessed is that any time a gang related story about Limerick appears in these papers they fly off the shelves...in Limerick. Certain sections of society here loves this image.

Silentcorner

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

One thing I have witnessed is that any time a gang related story about Limerick appears in these papers they fly off the shelves...in Limerick. Certain sections of society here loves this image.

And that is another issue, what damage has it done to the Limerick people who read/believe this stuff. This has been a narrative that has existed since the 80s, that is a long long time. The image problem this city suffers from is also a self image problem.

What impact does it have on the communities that are constantly highlighted, it is hard enough to keep young fellas on the straight and narrow without having to compete with the glamour of media notoriety.

Everyone across the city and country knows Moyross for a couple of high profile incidents, but how many know that the estate is also home to a British and Irish Lion and two members of an international rock band?

steveon

Silentcorner wrote: »

I think it is about time we started a dedicated thread to the shameful Irish media treatment of this city.

What prompted me to start this thread was when I returned from town I couldn't get any reports on the event I had just experienced, with no mention on the main evening news on RTE, I turned to the Indo and not only was there no mention of the event either there was a Limerick related story. See below

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gangland-threat-women-enjoy-gay-pride-parade-30567132.html

This "news organisation" cannot go a week/10 days (sometimes multiple stories over the same period)without some mention of gangland Limerick, I have been watching it since the start of the year, to see what would get more coverage, the Dundons or Limerick City of Culture...the Dundons are winning on that score hands down.

Barry Duggan (the reporter, is a Limerick man for the record) I have read at least 3 gangland related stories on this website over the last 10 days.

A quick search online turned up the following

http://www.sundayworld.com/search?q=dundon there are over 6 stories related to Gangland Limerick over the last two weeks alone...

http://www.irishmirror.ie/search/simple.do?destinationSectionId=5991&publicationName=irishmirror&sortString=publishdate&sortOrder=desc&sectionId=5988&articleTypes=+news+opinion+advice&pageNumber=1&pageLength=5&searchString=Dundon

6 stories over the last month.

There hasn't been a serious gangland incident in this city since Jan 2011.

This has to stop.

The above website's would have hundreds of thousands of visitors every day.

I didn't want to start this but where else can the people of this city turn to.

Barry Duggan is himself a Limerick man I went to school with him, Rte cherish the day when they can slag off Limerick and never ever show anything good bout our great city...

chicorytip

It can be a sign of maturity in a human being to tolerate jokes made at one's own expense.

Silentcorner

chicorytip wrote: »

It can be a sign of maturity in a human being to tolerate jokes made at one's own expense.

If you ever have/know a kid who is being bullied in school you should repeat that mantra to them.

That statement is highly offensive, not only have we no right to reject a damaging and insulting nickname, we lack the maturity to see the humour in it?

It can be a sign of stupidity to completely lack the intellect to realise when one is causing offence?

chicorytip

It is hardly appropriate to compare instances of bullying whether in school,at home or in the workplace which are, no doubt, traumatic for the sufferers ,with a perceived bias in the national media against an entire geographical region.No such prejudice exists and it's about time for those who claim otherwise - attention seeking local politicians in particular- to overcome their "persecution" complex.

wired117

Blatantly obvious that a prejudice exists, we havent collectively imagined it. It is just so normal for Limerick to be harrangued in the media that it has become sadly normal

Silentcorner

chicorytip wrote: »

It is hardly appropriate to compare instances of bullying whether in school,at home or in the workplace which are, no doubt, traumatic for the sufferers ,with a perceived bias in the national media against an entire geographical region.No such prejudice exists and it's about time for those who claim otherwise - attention seeking local politicians in particular- to overcome their "persecution" complex.

I assure you I have no persecution complex, I have a massive problem with the blatant media narrative that is doing damage to the city. To that end, I have linked 13 instances in the last number of weeks, of gangland stories that have no business being in the news cycle. I mean, look at the content, they are not even reporting crimes, because that all stopped 4 years ago!!! You on the other hand have just dismissed this is an inability to have a sense of humour about it!!!

The tabloids keep the narrative boiling over, the likes of RTE will chip in from time to time also, as have the Irish Times, and the radio talk shows.

I think it is entirely appropriate to compare that process with the instances of bullying. The results are very similar.

vkid

The only way this will change is if it hits the media outlets in their pockets. Thats very hard to do.
You would have to see a sustained drop in sales or viewer/listenership figures from the region for anything to happen.

BTW the local media are often just as bad imo. Its not just the Dublin/Cork crowd, who get their stories from local sources as much as anywhere else.

A campaign encouraging people not to buy/listen/watch offending media could possibly work, but for that to get any traction..it would be difficult.