The failure of Irish Media to impartially report

suicide_circus

^^^^ I won't be signing up to Steve Bannon or anything like him but there is a problem with centrist ideas being labelled as wrong-think which may indeed have unforeseen consequences.

BarryD2

Silentcorner wrote: »

This issue will never be addressed as long as our media and established political parties can help it, to do so would mean the huge poverty/charity sector would have to be completely reformed, as too would the Legal Sector who make fortunes on the backs of people like Mrs Cash.

There's an element of truth is this alright. There's a good few sectoral empires and cushy guaranteed incomes built up and made on the back of these issues.

Suits the media to play the story like this though, whip up a bit of controversy.. sell a few extra papers, get some more listeners etc. And feck the consequences. Whatever they are, they'll whip up a storm on these too in time. Froth.

suicide_circus

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

You should be 100% opposed to socialist ideas. It requires tyranny to implement.

I can't bring myself to be opposed to healthcare based on need rather than ability to pay. I recognise that some things will never turn a profit but are still a social good.

Edgware

You must accept that educated socialists like Higgins Howlin etc know what's best for the great unwashed and the duty of the worker is to provide enough taxes to keep them in luxury and non worker scroungers in enough comfort that they will vote for the intellectuals at election time

Elmer Blooker

DickSwiveller Returns wrote: »

We don't really have journalists in this country. There are a tiny few like Mick Clifford, but overall we have campaigners masquerading as journalists. The level of bias in Irish media is off the wall.

A bit unfair to single out the Irish media, they are all singing off the same hymn sheet - for example, last night Channel 4 news had an article about the brutality of the Assad regime to divert attention away from western backed crimes and atrocities in Yemen. Guess what? There was something on the RTE news this evening about the "bad" Assad regime.
Who remembers the bombing of a school bus in Yemen now?

DickSwiveller Returns

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

A bit unfair to single out the Irish media, they are all singing off the same hymn sheet - for example, last night Channel 4 news had an article about the brutality of the Assad regime to divert attention away from western backed crimes and atrocities in Yemen. Guess what? There was something on the RTE news this evening about the "bad" Assad regime.
Who remembers the bombing of a school bus in Yemen now?

You're right. I would say, however, that the British media have a bit more diversity of opinion.

Gunmonkey

Kivaro wrote: »

There are two sides to every story. There always is.
Look at the omnipresent Margaret Cash as an example.
On one hand you have a mother who ended up at a Garda station with her six children because she had no where else to go.
Definitely something to look at and report on.

However, what about the other side of the story. Margaret Cash, a criminal with involvement in Traveller gangs who terrorise communities around the country, but still receives approximately €50,000 in tax-free aid every year to support herself and her family. And yet she has ended up homeless ......... at a Garda station. Where is the examination of this aspect of the story?
There are many other examples of media bias in Ireland.

Irish media, with the exception of a very few, report the side of the story that will play well with certain political groups in the country; groups who would economically ruin Ireland if they came within a hair's breadth of power. The one-sided reporting of this homeless case is a slap in the face to those who contribute to society in a positive manner and a worse slap in the face who are truly vulnerable in this country.

The problem being....they will only report the facts in this situation, which was her and the kids in the Garda station for the night. They need to get something out on print/on the air/online to get the clicks and sell the papers. They most likely did see all the Facebook stuff but ignored it as if they were to publish "oh she is a spoofer and scamming us all" then the outcry from the bleeding hearts would be colossal; we've people on here giving out about posters hitting this woman "while shes at her lowest point" and such....you think a national paper or broadcaster would get off with only some grumpy posts on Boards.ie? Wouldn't doubt boycotts or demands for apologies thrown around at best or helping to fund a slander or defamation case at worst!

Highlighting the bolded part, how much is actual fact and how much your opinion? Not saying she isn't a scammer and has been before courts, but how much can you prove just from a Facebook account? Yes, it should be investigated but if they went to print with no article covering this then the higher ups would be asking why every other paper/newsroom is covering this and they aren't? So they did the best they could and reported them in the Garda station and spun it about the problems with no housing in Dublin....probably the lowest hanging journalistic fruit there is right now!

Silentcorner wrote: »

The media are much better versed at distracting us from the real issues than we seem to think.

You'll also notice that we have never seen two politicians discussing the issue of life long benefit dependency, the impact that has on a person, and a community and therefore the town/city and country..ever, it has never happened despite the amount of hours per week we are presented with Current affairs and News content.

In fact, our media never tackle that issue despite the fact it is the root cause of a lot of addiction, criminality, anti social behaviour and the like, instead, they feed us stories like this knowing full well we'll take the bait...

Because it works in their minds! Its far easier for them to just hand out wads to whoever demands it as a staged removal based on time/unwillingness to improve by the dole-lifers would eventually lead to some family out on the street or kids starving or such and then the outcry begins.

Which is better for politicians:

-a social group growing up with no sense of personal responsibility (who might give ya a vote if you promise to increase the gravy train next budget) and "Ah its terrible but theres anti-social behaviors/drugs/poor in all countries"
-having to face down reporters listing off families thrown out of houses (and the accompanying videos of Gardaí dragging screaming mothers and kids out the door) and how the Gov can allow this and its awful because every case will have some "yeah but..." element to it to why they are unique in not being able to find work.

markodaly

https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/enniscorthy-guardian/20171212/281779924469721

This is the kicker, has any of the national press commentated or released that information.
The Irish media is a joke.

ChikiChiki

mikemac2 wrote: »

Around the time of the bank crash the Indo reported that AIB staff receive €2,400 every year to join golf clubs, tennis clubs, ride horses & horse-whip taxpayers bla bla

It was true that an allowance existed but they were stacks of conditions and it wasn’t an easy bonus. Staff pay the subscription and go to HR to claim a percentage. The very top figure was only for senior staff

Bank staff on low to average pay took a lot of needless abuse and this sort of rabble rousing didn’t help. Take one line from a HR manual and spin it

Worked in the bank at the time of the crash. Low level officials such as tellers were getting constantly abused by the public and even spat at. Plenty of absolute idiots out there, no doubt about it.

Kermit.de.frog

This one ticks all the boxes and more of the stereotypical scrounger.

If Varadkar had balls he'd go out and make a statement looking for support tackling this behaviour against the people who work for a living in this country.

And to the mindless liberals standing behind these scroungers - he'd get that support.

People are fed up with this.

If you can't afford kids and don't know how to use a condom because you are that stupid then keep your legs shut.

But then at 50k a year on all of us maybe she is not that stupid?

That is totally disgraceful.

NIMAN

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

This one ticks all the boxes and more of the stereotypical scrounger.

If Varadkar had balls he'd go out and make a statement looking for support tackling this behaviour against the people who work for a living in this country.

And to the mindless liberals standing behind these scroungers - he'd get that support.

People are fed up with this.

If you can't afford kids and don't know how to use a condom because you are that stupid then keep your legs shut.

But then at 50k a year on all of us maybe she is not that stupid?

That is totally disgraceful.

Let's be honest, I'm sure the likes of Leo and the housing minister etc would love to say out loud what we are all thinking, but if they were to speak their minds, they might as well resign, because their careers would be over.

Kermit.de.frog

In what other country in the world would it be tolerated that someone on state support could take home 50k a year tax free off taxpayers?

I'm serious. Can anyone think of ANY other country in the world that would allow that???

This country is totally fcuked up and needs to get it's affairs in order. That is....I mean what do say about that?

Fcuking Paddyland.

And most of us working our asses off.

Unbelievable.

People like to pretend workers and professionals leave this country due to lack of job opportunities. I know, from experience, that is not entirely true and this bullsh!t is very much part of the reason as well. It really angers people. Pay 50% fcuking tax to support the likes of her!?

PlaneSpeeking

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

In what other country in the world would it be tolerated that someone on state support could take home 50k a year tax free off taxpayers?

I'm serious. Can anyone think of ANY other country in the world that would allow that???

This country is totally fcuked up and needs to get it's affairs in order. That is....I mean what do say about that?

Fcuking Paddyland.

And most of us working our asses off.

Unbelievable.

People like to pretend workers and professionals leave this country due to lack of job opportunities. I know, from experience, that is not entirely true and this bullsh!t is very much part of the reason as well. It really angers people. Pay 50% fcuking tax to support the likes of her!?

I've friends in the UK and I see their situations- even those who don't believe this one woyld either be of the mind that "It's just a tiny percentage" or "what about the mps expenses?".

No reality of thoughts of the rest of us working. Their media is similarly slanted.

SeaFields

If you are knowledgeable around any particular topic you will see the factually inaccurate and blantently incorrect reporting of topic of it makes the headlines for any reason. Keep that in the back of your mind when you're reading any reporting of a topic you are not familiar with. Many moons ago I completed a research thesis the subject of which made the news not long after my work was completed. I'd a call from a journalist from a top national paper wanting some quotes from me. Because I wouldn't confirm his wholly inaccurate grasping of the topic he wouldn't use my research in his report.

We really need critical thinking to be ingrained into our education system so people learn to look beyond what they are being presented with.

PlaneSpeeking

SeaFields wrote: »

If you are knowledgeable around any particular topic you will see the factually inaccurate and blantently incorrect reporting of topic of it makes the headlines for any reason. Keep that in the back of your mind when you're reading any reporting of a topic you are not familiar with. Many moons ago I completed a research thesis the subject of which made the news not long after my work was completed. I'd a call from a journalist from a top national paper wanting some quotes from me. Because I wouldn't confirm his wholly inaccurate grasping of the topic he wouldn't use my research in his report.

We really need critical thinking to be ingrained into our education system so people learn to look beyond what they are being presented with.

I've rarely agreed so strongly with a post!!!!

Deiselurker

The Irish media refuse to say anything negative about travellers, asylum seekers and other minorities due to their liberal bias and fear of criticism by quangos. The quality of reporting of stories is ridiculous with press releases from pressure groups being reported as facts and no questioning of them is allowed. Last Saturday morning at 8am the headline story on the radio was the death of a trans asylum seeker in a direct provision centre in Galway. No foul play was suspected. How could that be the main story?

Wheeliebin30

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

This one ticks all the boxes and more of the stereotypical scrounger.

If Varadkar had balls he'd go out and make a statement looking for support tackling this behaviour against the people who work for a living in this country.

And to the mindless liberals standing behind these scroungers - he'd get that support.

People are fed up with this.

If you can't afford kids and don't know how to use a condom because you are that stupid then keep your legs shut.

But then at 50k a year on all of us maybe she is not that stupid?

That is totally disgraceful.

He did and he was lambasted by everyone and every party.

We were told there is no welfare fraud by Ruth koppinger and Sinn Fein.

Ugh I hate the way this country has gone.

Any opinion just shot down by the liberal left.

Edgware

markodaly wrote: »

https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/enniscorthy-guardian/20171212/281779924469721

This is the kicker, has any of the national press commentated or released that information.
The Irish media is a joke.

Of course they havent. They remember what happened the likes of Kevin Myers when he raised the issue of single mothers and the fathers of the children making no contribution to their upkeep.
They all love to portray themselves as modern day Veronica Guerins but in fact mostcare just writing colour pieces about the Horse Show or what colour socks Varadkar is wearing

PlaneSpeeking

Edgware wrote: »

markodaly wrote: »

https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/enniscorthy-guardian/20171212/281779924469721

This is the kicker, has any of the national press commentated or released that information.
The Irish media is a joke.

Of course they havent. They remember what happened the likes of Kevin Myers when he raised the issue of single mothers and the fathers of the children making no contribution to their upkeep.
They all love to portray themselves as modern day Veronica Guerins but in fact mostcare just writing colour pieces about the Horse Show or what colour socks Varadkar is wearing

Apparently Leo wearing a jacket that cost 700 euro is a national scandal according to the loony left.

Yet that one Cash could buy one a month and barely make a dent. Why not attack the REAL issue???

flookdgates

The Ibrahim Halawa fairytale really opened my eyes as to how rotten the media in this country is. Day in day out, they championed this guy's case despite his dubious alibi and his father's links to the Muslim Brotherhood. It was private citizens like Mark Humphrys who did the investigative journalism to uncover Halawa's dirty little secrets. The circus celebrating his return to Ireland and the ensuing fluff interview on RTE was nauseating.

markodaly

The internet is the death spiral of the Irish media. They can no longer spin their bull**** lies.

Edgware

markodaly wrote: »

The internet is the death spiral of the Irish media. They can no longer spin their bull**** lies.

At least we have After Hours to let us know the truth

Hotblack Desiato

Kivaro wrote: »

Liberalism can be a good thing sometimes, but RTE takes it to the extreme in their one-sided reporting of all things liberal.

RTE fawn over the Iona Institute constantly. If they had balls they'd refuse to let a tiny organisation of a few crackpots near the airwaves.

RTE's first abortion debate was a complete joke, the Yes side were barely allowed speak. Pat Kenny and TV3 had to show them how to do it properly, he shut Maria Steen up several times when she tried to monopolise the debate.

Then just the other day Ronan Mullen got several minutes on Drivetime spouting utter BS completely unchallenged. It was basically a party election broadcast on his behalf, he explicitly pleaded for votes.

So is it bias, or rather a complete lack of professionalism and standards? Maybe a little from column A and a lot from column B.

Kivaro

It seems Fianna Fail have lost the plot and are on the wrong side of the Margaret Cash story. FF Spokesperson on Housing, Darragh O’Brien TD called for the establishment of a time specific taskforce to address the crisis in child homelessness in Ireland. Here is his quote:
“The reports which emerged from Tallaght this week are appalling but shockingly this wasn’t an isolated incident."

The irony behind this quote is probably the vast majority of us totally agree with it. What happened was "appalling" i.e. a Traveller gang member, who has terrorised the vulnerable around the country, and is receiving over €54K in tax-free benefits every year, obviously played the media and politicians by her Garda station publicity stunt.
And I also agree with the second part of Fianna Fail's quote; I most certainly agree that this type of scam is "not an isolated incident", and it is being perpetrated by many other scammers.
However, the Fianna Fail spokesperson did not see the incident like the rest of us did.

The animated Darragh O’Brien TD who appeared on television after the Garda station circus, tried to depict Charles-Dickens-era child homelessness on the streets of Ireland; hence his demand for a child homelessness task force.

Is Fianna Fail the new Sinn Fein?

markodaly

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

RTE fawn over the Iona Institute constantly. If they had balls they'd refuse to let a tiny organisation of a few crackpots near the airwaves.

RTE's first abortion debate was a complete joke, the Yes side were barely allowed speak. Pat Kenny and TV3 had to show them how to do it properly, he shut Maria Steen up several times when she tried to monopolise the debate.

Then just the other day Ronan Mullen got several minutes on Drivetime spouting utter BS completely unchallenged. It was basically a party election broadcast on his behalf, he explicitly pleaded for votes.

So is it bias, or rather a complete lack of professionalism and standards? Maybe a little from column A and a lot from column B.

Mate, the abortion ref was 3 months ago, you won, you're OK, relax.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Kivaro wrote: »

It seems Fianna Fail have lost the plot and are on the wrong side of the Margaret Cash story. FF Spokesperson on Housing, Darragh O’Brien TD called for the establishment of a time specific taskforce to address the crisis in child homelessness in Ireland. Here is his quote:
“The reports which emerged from Tallaght this week are appalling but shockingly this wasn’t an isolated incident."

The irony behind this quote is probably the vast majority of us totally agree with it. What happened was "appalling" i.e. a Traveller gang member, who has terrorised the vulnerable around the country, and is receiving over €54K in tax-free benefits every year, obviously played the media and politicians by her Garda station publicity stunt.
And I also agree with the second part of Fianna Fail's quote; I most certainly agree that this type of scam is "not an isolated incident", and it is being perpetrated by many other scammers.
However, the Fianna Fail spokesperson did not see the incident like the rest of us did.

The animated Darragh O’Brien TD who appeared on television after the Garda station circus, tried to depict Charles-Dickens-era child homelessness on the streets of Ireland; hence his demand for a child homelessness task force.

Is Fianna Fail the new Sinn Fein?

I don’t know. What I do know is that internet comment that is pseudonymous isn’t going to sway any party. FB posts tend to be sympathetic to the mother here, as are most tweets.

JupiterKid

Yes, there is definitely a bias in media reporting but it was always thus. There has always been an agenda by the media and this is especially obvious in print media like the newspapers.

The sad thing is that the average Joe seems to soak up this rubbish. For instance, we are practically hearing nothing about the humanitarian disaster befalling Yemen because the media are pressured from the powers that be to not report it.

But this thread, like so many others on boards, smacks of Angry Young Man syndrome where everyone on welfare is a waster and scrounger and the “honest working people” are shafted at every turn. Barstool talk. Black and white thinking.

The reality is that the world is a very complex place and simplistic explanations just lead to poorly informed opinions, and Leo and chums in govt are delighted with that. Divide and conquer tactics and we seem to fall for it every time.

indioblack

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

... Channel 4 news had an article about the brutality of the Assad regime to divert attention away from western backed crimes and atrocities in Yemen.

How do you know that that was their motivation?

boombang

I find it amazing how earnest some of the journos seem to be on these stories. They really reveal themselves to be pure idiots. I'm thinking of tweets from Kitty Holland and Patrick Freyne. Bleeding heart morons.

Franz Von Peppercorn

indioblack wrote: »

How do you know that that was their motivation?

No western media is covering Yemen with the same kind of level of coverage as they did Syria. It’s barely mentioned.

indioblack

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

No western media is covering Yemen with the same kind of level of coverage as they did Syria. It’s barely mentioned.

Understood. I was wondering about the connection between one tv channel and the actions of governments.

titan18

NIMAN wrote: »

Let's be honest, I'm sure the likes of Leo and the housing minister etc would love to say out loud what we are all thinking, but if they were to speak their minds, they might as well resign, because their careers would be over.

Probably but there's a lot of working people in the company getting shafted. I'd be sure (or at least hope) that if they were presented with the facts of what their taxes are actually going on, they'd be able to push through stuff that the left would be trying to shut down.

Liamo08

Roanmore wrote: »

I haven't been following this story much aside from the headlines but Newstalk had a piece on this story today, basically how people were using social media to vent and abuse Margaret Cash.
It started out balanced enough, the guy standing in for Ivan Yeats said he would read texts from both sides.
He started off reading the pro texts, spoke softly and solemnly, next the anti texts, his voice changed, nothing but contempt for the people's viewpoint.

The last text, some guy said that if a dog constantly had pups the owner would be described as irresponsible and said surely having 8 kids when you can't afford it is irresponsible. Maybe a little insensitive but what happened next I thought was a disgrace. First of all he said people who make these comments never leave their name, he was corrected by his production team.
Then he said here we have a guy comparing Margaret Cash to a bitching dog on a puppy farm. He then repeated it for good measure. The texter never mentioned bitch or puppy, they were the presenter's words.

Next Fergus Finlay chimes in defending Margaret Cash having a big family comparing it to his own large family. The thing is he undermined his own argument by saying his parents did lots of things to earn money to raise their family. Presenter never said a word, too busy having a rant against people who were complaining about not being able to afford children even they were working and paying taxes.

It was Cuddihy himself who talked about the ‘irresponsible’ dog owner having 15 dogs they couldn’t afford to care for in the previous part of the show about dogs being re-homed, think the guy was just calling him out knowing his stance on the Cash story. Couldn’t believe the change in tone as he read out the texts incredible stuff.

Roanmore

Liamo08 wrote: »

It was Cuddihy himself who talked about the ‘irresponsible’ dog owner having 15 dogs they couldn’t afford to care for in the previous part of the show about dogs being re-homed, think the guy was just calling him out knowing his stance on the Cash story. Couldn’t believe the change in tone as he read out the texts incredible stuff.

Thanks for that, missed that story. Makes sense.

cml387

Remember the Larry Goodman saga. First reported by Granada television. Then finally picked up by RTE.
Clerical abuse? First story was done by UTV, when it was safe to do so the southern media piled in.
RTE had a full investigation of shenanigans in the Irish sweepstakes, finally shown long after the Irish Sweep was consigned to history.
Dodgy dealings in Facebook in Dublin? Thank you Channel 4

So no, I don't hold the Irish media in high regard.

Hotblack Desiato

markodaly wrote: »

Mate, the abortion ref was 3 months ago, you won, you're OK, relax.

Yeah, you're right, bias and low standards at RTE should just be ignored :rolleyes:

Hotblack Desiato

JupiterKid wrote: »

The sad thing is that the average Joe seems to soak up this rubbish. For instance, we are practically hearing nothing about the humanitarian disaster befalling Yemen because the media are pressured from the powers that be to not report it.

Whatever about RTE (Given up on them for news a long time ago) the Irish Times does report on it.

The reality is that the world is a very complex place and simplistic explanations just lead to poorly informed opinions

Like conspiracy theories about "the powers that be" silencing certain stories? What would any journalist, editor or publisher gain from that?

Doc07

SeaFields wrote: »

If you are knowledgeable around any particular topic you will see the factually inaccurate and blantently incorrect reporting of topic of it makes the headlines for any reason. Keep that in the back of your mind when you're reading any reporting of a topic you are not familiar with. Many moons ago I completed a research thesis the subject of which made the news not long after my work was completed. I'd a call from a journalist from a top national paper wanting some quotes from me. Because I wouldn't confirm his wholly inaccurate grasping of the topic he wouldn't use my research in his report.

We really need critical thinking to be ingrained into our education system so people learn to look beyond what they are being presented with.

I rarely venture away from the cycling/sports sections on boards and a lot of this thread leaves a bad taste but that is one of the best posts I’ve ever read on an Internet forum.

thebaz

what I don't understand , Dennis O'Brien fought a hugely expensive war to take control of the Indo from the O'Reillys - he won the war , and then presided over its decsent into utter cheap rubbish - it is pratically given away for free - who would actually pay for its unimaginate journalism , with tantilising sensationlist headlines that tell us nothing? - it truly is an awful read today , of what was once a reasonable news source.

Hotblack Desiato

The Indo was sliding into the gutter a long time before DO'B got control of it.

Edgware

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

The Indo was sliding into the gutter a long time before DO'B got control of it.

Surely you mean sliding back

Kivaro

While there seems to be a majority on here that agree that the media in Ireland are abysmal in their record of fair and balanced reporting, kudos should be given when an Irish news source breaks the mold.
Like when the Examiner reported the following on its front page today (link):

We’ve become a welfare nation “overly dependent” on state payments compared to other countries, newly published Government papers have warned.

Who knows, there might even be an evenly-balanced reported follow-up by other Irish media sources with the possibility of a frank discussion on social welfare reform. I do expect Sinn Fein, and others heavily dependent on the social welfare vote, to try and shout/shut down any reasonable discussion on the topic. RTE, of course, will heavily report on this one-sided view.

badtoro

CeilingFly wrote: »

Journalism as a profession is all but gone.

This a thousand times. Journalists are gone, replaced by vacuous media / social media / influencer morons. Fact has been replaced by opinion. A large contributing piece of why the world is so angry.

general_patton

check out one philip o connor on twitter ( journalist based in sweden ) , he has an avalanche of tweets on the topic of mrs cash

he really nails it where he states that anyone who voted FG or FF last time round , this homelessness is on you !

gmcdaid

Kivaro wrote: »

While there seems to be a majority on here that agree that the media in Ireland are abysmal in their record of fair and balanced reporting, kudos should be given when an Irish news source breaks the mold.
Like when the Examiner reported the following on its front page today (link):

Who knows, there might even be an evenly-balanced reported follow-up by other Irish media sources with the possibility of a frank discussion on social welfare reform. I do expect Sinn Fein, and others heavily dependent on the social welfare vote, to try and shout/shut down any reasonable discussion on the topic. RTE, of course, will heavily report on this one-sided view.

You obviously didn't read the article in full.

The writer, Daniel McConnell, who is first among equals in the misery junkie set, went on the oppose the tenor of the report and ended up ranting about our "ideologically driven housing crisis".

Kivaro

gmcdaid wrote: »

You obviously didn't read the article in full.

The writer, Daniel McConnell, who is first among equals in the misery junkie set, went on the oppose the tenor of the report and ended up ranting about our "ideologically driven housing crisis".

He may have said it in the print article, but he did not rant in the online edition link that I provided.

I was just happy to see the words "We’ve become a welfare nation overly dependent on state payments" on any Irish Media source. My hope was that a wider conversation might be had in order to address it.

Kivaro

Open Letter to Miriam O'Callaghan:

Dear Miriam,
You had a fantastic opportunity to highlight the over-dependency on social welfare and the exorbitant sums received by work-able recipients when you interviewed Margaret Cash on Thursday, Aug 16. The fact that you allowed the 28-year-old unemployed mother of 7 to have an open stage on a tax-funded platform without asking any questions that challenged her welfare lifestyle is appalling.

I read from Wikipedia that you oversaw several high-profile investigative programmes while working at the BBC, so one would have to presume you were aware of the various techniques to get at the truth e.g. probing questions.
I also read on Wikipedia that you earned €307,000 in 2011; the most recent earnings that was available. This is tax-funded money, and one may wonder if this is the reason why you did not question the sizeable tax-funded money being received by the homeless unemployed mother of 7.

Your interview with Margaret Cash lacked integrity and honesty, and you should be ashamed of yourself and your profession not to question her in an impartial manner. Not only was it your duty as a reporter, but it was your duty as a tax payer.

Yours Sincerely,
The overwhelming majority of the Irish Public

Hector Bellend

Joe Duffy is the shining light of partial broadcasting in this country.

He's the standard bearer of bias.

Laois_Man

It's not a problem unique to Ireland. If you attempted to scan the US TV News networks trying to find an impartial view of Donald Trump, it's impossible. Probably the nearest thing you might get to impartiality is RTE, but not in any great depth, and it's nowhere near entirely impartial either.

Pity they can't be in any way impartial with politics in our own country though - despite them being legally obliged to be so. Love them or loath them, the way SF are treated is a problem (and will continue to be unless and until the day when the minister who decides on the TV License increases is from that party). The cowardice in touching upon certain topics - e.g. Any comment on how Leo Varadkar's sexuality might negatively effect FG vote in the next GE is off limits. I have yet to hear anyone comment on it - we have to pretend we have no homophobic people in Ireland. Just as we have to ignore the conspicuous bias towards certain party's in RTE and INM

Corby Trouser Press

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

RTE fawn over the Iona Institute constantly. If they had balls they'd refuse to let a tiny organisation of a few crackpots near the airwaves.

RTE's first abortion debate was a complete joke, the Yes side were barely allowed speak. Pat Kenny and TV3 had to show them how to do it properly, he shut Maria Steen up several times when she tried to monopolise the debate.

Then just the other day Ronan Mullen got several minutes on Drivetime spouting utter BS completely unchallenged. It was basically a party election broadcast on his behalf, he explicitly pleaded for votes.

So is it bias, or rather a complete lack of professionalism and standards? Maybe a little from column A and a lot from column B.

You’ve got to be kidding me ?!

The 8th Ref was the greatest stitch up of all.

Pat Kenny interrogated Maria Steen a day after letting Peter Boylan have free reign on the radio show.

There was a coordinated email complaints campaign to Newstalk regarding the lack of any questioning of Boylan and Pat was extremely angry that his pro repeal bias had been identified so he took it out on Steen in the radio interview and the TV debate.

Oh and btw not a penny of your tax money goes towards Iona and they get bloody well interrogated on the airwaves.

Many taxpayer supported entities backed repeal, zero questioning from media about whether these entities getting involved in a question of constitutional change was appropriate.

The final vote was 2:1.
Amongst journalists and media it was probably closer to 10:1.