Maman Poulet

While #Fag-gate starts to rumble (it’s still August unfortunately) some political correspondents are clearly desperate for news to joke about it. It is a joke right? Niamh Lyons is a political correspondent with the Irish Daily Mail – wishful tweeting?

It’s not the usual political correspondent tweet (no they’re not all devoid of humour but they are generally careful enough), but then the Mail is not your usual newspaper is it? And to think that politicians have seen articles (mountains) made out of tweets (molehills) quite a bit recently – Dermot Looney and Dan Boyle come to mind.

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I’ve taken a little blogging break here for the last ten days or so, but it’s not been completely quiet. You may have noted the post exploring the campaign for marriage and the change in how marriage is interpreted which I wrote earlier this week on The (Fabulous) AntiRoom.

I think some of the point of my post got a bit lost in some of the 77 (!) comments which followed but it’s probably one of the more interesting online debates on the rationale some have adopted in their campaign strategies and the perspectives of those who feel alienated.

I’ll be continuing the debate (or trying anyway) on Global Voices on Newstalk tonight with a representative from LGBT Noise.

Also this week I was invited to speak on a panel at a seminar held by Humanrights.ie and the Public Interest Law Alliance which marked the first anniversary of Humanrights.ie It was a very enjoyable afternoon where I was permitted to rant a little about human rights and medias. I believe there will be video and audio available in the next few weeks. Congratulations to Humanrights.ie for their first very successful year and continued good wishes for the future. (Note to other blogs – this crew had had a birthday cake and bubbly to mark their first birthday – lawyers do it in style!)

In other news

- Ivor, Ann, Labhras and Rónán all sent their excuse notes into the Seanad Members Interests committee, (note that Rónán’s name is separated from the other three in this RTE report.

– Ivor has been spotted brunching in Clontarf,

– Rónán Mullen and the Iona Institute have been moaning about Marriage Equality’s forthcoming conference on Children in Same Sex families and the EU funding that has been awarded for the conference. Where do Iona get their money again?

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No contact received yet from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission asking me to take down the picture tweeted by Minister Ciaran Cuffe in the Dáil bar last Thursday night which I blogged shortly afterwards. The picture showed politicians and members of the lesbian and gay community celebrating the passage of the Civil Partnership Bill.

It seems that the Superintendent of the Oireachtas discovered the picture and requested that the Minister take it down. The rule of no photography allowed inside the Dáil or the bar was broken (it’s not just the bar that photography is banned – other areas are camera free). It’s a stupid rule. It’s a public place albeit with restricted access, subsidised by tax payers and as Cuffe says many people would like a souvenir of their visit.

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Published today is a document detailing the coverage RTE have given to the situation surrounding civil partnership legislation and matters pertaining to the legal recognition of same sex relationships.

Prepared by Karl Hayden I’ll leave it to him to explain why he put a great amount of effort into producing this list.

One of the reasons I chose to do this was because each time (3 times) I engaged with the protesters outside the Dáil in recent months. One of the claims they made was the lack of media coverage on the issue and their claim that the “Political Establishment” and “Liberal Media Bias” in particular RTÉ, had conspired to deny Irish people of information about Civil Partnership and that it was being done behind the people’s backs. They also claimed that the “Homosexual Liberal Agenda” got more coverage than anyone who opposed it. No doubt they will continue trying to say the Irish people have been denied information, despite the evidence.

Most of the links in the document work – so you can go back and listen to debates on reports on the issue over the years. And the next time someone says that gays and lesbians got more coverage than others or controlled the agenda one can produce this list showing lots of opponents (many with no mandate or knowledge on the subject) getting airtime. It’s a document that many students in media, sociology and history will refer to in the analysis of civil partnership and indeed the book that someone (no not me) will probably write about the campaign at some stage.

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Who checked that the people who took part in the RTE Prime Time Investigates programme last night and if they truly understood how they would be portrayed in the programme or even wanted to participate?  I refer to the people diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimers.

Their families were no doubt asked and consented for them and some are understandably hoping that services will improve as a result of taking part in the programme.

There were numerous times during this programme that I flinched. Not only for the horrific situations faced by the families and their family member affected.

But also at

• the constant use of the word nappies (by the narrator),
• the footage of people who could not consent being washed, changed, having incontinence pads changed,
• the frequent conversations about someone while in their presence.
• The question to a woman in the early stages of the illness about her fears of a nursing home without someone to support her.
• Putting someone in and out of a car to demonstrate difficulty in care and support – who asked him did he want to do that?

Of course he couldn’t answer if asked I know but some independent advocacy or editorial advice on making this programme was badly needed to ensure the rights to dignity of people with Alzheimers and Dementia was respected at all times.  The individual rights seem to have disappeared.

It is bad enough that the state treats people so badly and services are failing to cope and nobody seems to take responsibility, our National broadcaster exploited them for their programme.

Their stories could have been told with dignity and respect and clarity regarding their needs and the deficits in support.  I should have been horrified (if unsurprised) at the failure of the system and dilemmas being faced in planning for the present and future, instead I was despairing at the manner in how it was being portrayed.

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There was a bit of toing and froing between RTE and the Catholic Communications Office this week over a report on PrimeTime last Tuesday on the problems facing the Catholic Church and on the decision by Cardinal Sean Brady to stay in office.

The report featured a number of inaccuracies that I spotted myself on the night, however the Catholic Communications Office were not just angry about the inaccuracies but the tone and attitude of the piece.  In homage to the Archbishop McQuaid school of complaints there were mentions of ‘excessive darkness’ in the imagery.

Thanks to my friends in the church (!) for a copy of the correspondence between the Communication Office and Ken O’Shea, RTE’s Current Affairs Editor,  which was sent out to the Cardinal, Bishops and priests throughout the country.

RTE did make a clarification on their show on Thursday night regarding Bishop Willie Walsh’s resignation and the incorrect picture of Bishop Drennan being shown – nothing else was mentioned though.   (Anyone else think that Bishop Willie Walsh is very happy to be retiring all the same?)

Dear Ken,

I am writing to you in relation to mistakes which were made in the broadcast of Tuesday’s (18 May) ‘Primetime’ concerning the Catholic Church.  I ask that tonight’s programme correct these mistakes (see points below) please.

In advance of your programme, the Catholic Communications Office sent in a reply at 13.22 on Tuesday 18 May to a media request from Rita O’Reilly of Primetime which sought to determine how many bishops had resigned since the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports and on what grounds.

While the CCO press release announcing Bishop Willie Walsh’s resignation did not specify the reason for his resignation, our email response to the Primetime query for information did explicitly state “age� as the reason for Bishop Walsh’s resignation as it said “… below is the list of resignations as discussed (I have listed the official announcements in date order).  The first two relate to those granted on grounds of age, Bishops Willie Walsh and Joseph Duffy.�

This is at variance to your reply to a complaint by Fr Seamus Gardiner concerning the same broadcast where you stated that “the [Primetime] reporter asked the Catholic Communications Office to supply us with a list and we told them we would be relying on the factual position as put to us by them. The script was based on what they emailed us and told us and it is as follows: …�

Thus Primetime has made a number of serious mistakes and partial editorial decisions in its broadcast and in your email to Fr Gardiner:

• The programme script clearly infers that Bishop Willie Walsh had to resign due to a failure of accountability, in other words for reasons not related to age grounds.  This is both factually incorrect and grossly misleading.  Quote from the programme:

“Heads have rolled since the publication of the Ryan and then the Murphy Reports.  Eight Irish bishops have offered to resign. So far the Pope has accepted six: the resignations of the Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray; the Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee; the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, James Moriarty; today Willie Walsh, the Bishop of Killaloe.  Pope Benedict has also accepted that two other Bishops have resigned on age grounds: Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher and Francis Lagan, Auxiliary Bishop of Derry.�

• Whilst Primetime has since corrected – in text form on its website – that Bishop Willie Walsh resigned due to age grounds, there remains a much more serious correction to be made, based on the context of the programme, namely to vindicate Bishop Willie Walsh’s good name in relation to safeguarding children.   Primetime should broadcast this clarification this evening concerning the false impression given by the programme for Bishop Walsh’s resignation, and not in the form of a text correction on its website.
• Your point in your email to Fr Gardiner that “It can’t be said that Willie Walsh’s resignation was accepted on age grounds because it’s simply not the caseâ€? – and which you support by an “exampleâ€? – is based on an incorrect mathematical calculation.  Completing one’s 75^th year and reaching 75 years of age are actually two ways of describing the same age.  Bishop Walsh, as with Bishops Duffy and Lagan, has completed his 75^th year.  It is wrong to assert that “In fact, although Willie Walsh reached 75 in January, the relevant Canon Law, Canon 401.1 states that a Bishop “who has completed his 75^th year of ageâ€? has to offer his resignation to the Pope, not a bishop who has just started his 75^th year of age.â€?  Bishop Walsh started his 76^th year of age from January 2010!
• The programme named Bishop Raymond Field who has tendered his resignation but pictured Bishop Martin Drennan instead who has not tendered his resignation.
• The video film introduction was excessively dark in imagery.
• The animated and exaggerated ‘mitres’ superimposed on the head and shoulder photographs of bishops were clearly meant to ridicule and were offensive to Catholics.

I look forward to you correcting these serious mistakes and impressions in tonight’s programme.

Regards

MARTIN LONG

Director

Catholic Communications Office

Irish Bishops’ Conference

Columba Centre

St Patrick’s College

Maynooth

Co Kildare

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National media reported last Wednesday that a senior official from Wicklow County Council was arrested in connection with an investigation into the deaths of two fire fighters in the county in 2007.

It was some senior official – and it took the local press to report that the person arrested was in fact the County Manager, Eddie Sheehy.

Two issues here that interest me, until a few years ago the names of anyone arrested would generally not be reported until any charges were made. However things have changed a lot especially when one considers the coverage of the arrest of Sean Fitzpatrick.

How come the local press reported on their front pages the name of the official arrested but the nationals didn’t? What are the norms to be in these matters in future?

The matter under investigation is an emotional one for the families and friends involved – which may explain the local papers interest in it – but I find it interesting that the name was not reported by RTE, Irish Times etc. It’s a case that gained national attention and the position held by the manager is significant and well rewarded. It’s not the first time that someone has been arrested in the investigation with previous arrests reported in 2008.

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RTE have commenced work on the leaders debates – or well they’ve responded to various interested parties who have contacted RTE.  I’m not sure which parties these are – there has been a lot of talk about the matter while watching the 3 debates in the UK and the Labour Party have called for a three way leaders debate but surely nobody has started talks/queries on it already? Unless FF are being quick of the mark and fear an early election?

As Deaglán de Bréadún reported in Monday’s Irish Times the FF source he spoke with thought it was all very early and there was a tone of ’sure hadn’t it all worked well as a two hander in previous elections.’

I wonder who the ‘other parties’ to have been in touch with RTE were – other media outlets maybe?  Anyway all the parties have indicated they don’t like Ken O’Shea’s (RTE Editor of Current Affairs) plan so it’s back to square one. Wonder will he end up with more than 76 rules?  Rather him than me… The correspondence sent to all the political parties was left in the henhouse – let the debate about the debates continue!

Various interested parties have contacted RTE in recent days inquiring about our plans for televised political debates in advance of the next general election. In light of this, and recent events in the UK election, it might be helpful to outline our intentions at this point.

RTE has always advocated a comprehensive programme of televised debates in the run-in to a general election, with the emphasis on providing the Irish public with a variety of opportunities to see the party leaders, and others, argue the merits of their respective manifestos.

For instance, in advance of the last general election, RTE proposed a debate between the leaders of all six political parties on Questions & Answers, followed by a four-way debate between the leaders of the smaller political parties on Prime Time, followed by a final debate between the leaders of the two largest parties, also on Prime Time.

In the event, on May 16th, 2007 Prime Time held a leaders’ debate involving Pat Rabbitte, Michael McDowell, Trevor Sargent and Gerry Adams.

On May 17th, Prime Time hosted a debate between Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny.

For the next general election, it is proposed that RTE will, once again, offer three main platforms for the party leaders to speak to the public and debate with each other:

1. The Frontline – Three-way debate featuring the leaders of the three largest parties: FF, FG and Labour. This would happen as close to the start of the campaign as possible.

2. Prime Time – three-way debate featuring the leaders of Labour, Greens, SF. Ideally, this would happen in the middle of the campaign.

3. Prime Time – the final leaders’ debate featuring the leaders of the two largest parties – FF vs. FG. Ideally, this would happen towards the end of the campaign.

We would also propose a debate between the Finance spokespersons of all parties, on The Frontline, at some point in the campaign, given the central role Economic policy will no doubt play in the campaign. The two Frontline debates will offer a unique opportunity for the leaders and Finance spokespersons to speak directly to voters, as a studio audience will be in attendance.

Clearly, all parties involved will want an input into this discussion and we will be happy to facilitate that at the appropriate time.

Regards,

Ken.
Editor,
Current Affairs TV,

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or not…

I refer of course to Fair City. Yvonne Doyle who when I last watched Fair City years ago was one of my most despised characters, is going out with Connie – whom the RTE website describes as ‘Self-taught, independent and strong-willed’ (secret telly code for lesbian).  Yvonne met Connie in Australia it seems and last September there was a lot of hyped ‘we’re not doing this storyline for titilation’ stories in the press when they arrived on screen and emerged as a couple.

Seemingly they are going to get married – where I do not know as I’ve not watched enough, I don’t know why either (except that Yvonne is always a cunning woman desperate to look happy and Connie must be gullible and having doubts). I do know that Bella Doyle thought he was going to walk Yvonne up the aisle but Connie put the brakes on that. I hear too that there are babies involved just to make Cóir and the like even more hysterical.

I’m not sure either if there has been extensive discussions of the Civil Partnership Bill, the non recognition of Foreign marriages or the fact that there is no such legal thing as same sex marriage in Ireland.

All I know is that I can’t watch it – same sex kissing or no same sex kissing.

I’m sure there will be further drama before they get to the fake altar. (In Eastenders that is what they call a duff duff duff moment. PS. Coronation St. are heading into lesbian storyline land I hear.)  Fill in the gaps in the comments if you wish

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Update: Video is at the end of this post

Have a look here – at 22.54 minutes in and watch Anne Doyle calmly introduce the TV News moment so far for 2010.

Charlie Bird is back viewers … back with a bang. After over a year of isolation and loneliness as RTE’s Washington correspondent, Charlie has found a role for himself in the coverage of Anglo Irish Bank and Ireland’s financial meltdown.  And it’s no April Fool.

He went on the road to Cape Cod in Boston looking for former Anglo Irish Bank CEO David Drumm who has moved to live there.  Mr Drumm owes money on loans amongst other issues.

In classic Bird fashion Charlie found the house and went knocking at the door.

I’ve transcribed the important bit.

We were set up for drama…

CB: As we approached the house it had all the appearances as if there was no-one at home

[Knock knock knock]

CB: Oh they’re there, he’s there [Cue viewers going 'oh yeah!']

CB:Mr. Drumm, It’s Charlie Bird from RTE, Can I talk to you?

CB: It’s Charlie Bird from RTE

CB: Why are you ducking down?

DD: Charlie, What are you doing?

CB: I want to talk to you

DD: [Muffled - we can assume Drumm said you can't come in or something polite like that]

CB: Well can I talk you outside

DD: No you can’t

DD: Have a bit of respect, will you, I have my family here in the house Charlie.

CB: There are tax payers at home in Ireland who would like to have some answers.

DD: Did you see the sign at the gate?

CB: There are some tax payers…

DD: Leave Now

CB: Ok, thank you very much

We later find that Charlie discovers that Drumm has protected his home from claims from people who are owed money. (Read Cape Cod Online’s report on the recent interest of Irish media in the house).

We’ve lost George Lee’s gleeful tones during the last while, but let’s have more Bird please – much more. Let’s send Charlie around the world to find Seanie Fitz, Sean Quinn, David Drumm, oh and Michael Lynn too while you are at it.  Please RTE!!! It’s in the national interest

And can someone please put it up on Youtube for posterity?? Thank you!

Update:

Many thanks to Alexia Golez for the video in an accessible format!

Drumm Doorstep feat Charlie Bird from Alexia Golez on Vimeo.

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