Media

The new normal is an opportunity for Northern Ireland’s centre ground

Gareth Brown on June 9, 2020, 2:07 pm | Readers 1520

The centre ground in Northern Ireland has been a tough road for the last fifteen years. Rightly or wrongly, the truth is that our own version of it has been a somewhat half-hearted attempt to be brave enough to say that elections, as opposed to a border poll if and when there is one, need not necessarily be about securing the most nationalist or unionist votes. Recently, Irish economist David McWilliams when describing how Churchill had won the war but …

Journalism 101… Or How To Miss A Scoop…

John Mooney on May 25, 2020, 4:12 pm | Readers 1599

In the olden days, Football was just a sport. Now it is a business and entertainment. In the olden days, Politics was about governance. Now it is a business and entertainment. And the means of reporting Football and Politics are now very different. The designated man (always a man) from the Manchester Evening News sat on the United coach. The designated men from the Liverpool Echo were on the Everton bus and the Liverpool bus. It was Access…the link between …

If I had to do lockdown again, I would cut back on media…

Brian O'Neill on May 23, 2020, 8:33 am | Readers 1578

In my younger years, I used to backpack around the world. One time I met an Australian girl who mentioned that she never consumed any news at all. This has always stuck in my mind. I was amazed and asked her was she not worried about missing out on anything important? Her insightful reply was that if it were important enough people would tell her. She gave the example of 9/11. The day after 9/11, someone said to her ‘Did …

Have a listen to this unusual but very catchy Covid-19 charity song – On Horseback…

Brian O'Neill on May 17, 2020, 6:52 pm | Readers 953

I have taken to listening to RTE Radio 1 early morning show, The Rising Time. The gently introduce you into another Covid-19 Groundhog Day with some relaxing tunes. The other morning I pricked up my ears at a song that started: I like beer, and I like cheese I like the smell of a westerly breeze But what I like more than all of these Is to be on horseback. WTF? Thought I. is this a spoof song? You can’t …

No news is… no problem for Radio Ulster

Ian Clarke on May 13, 2020, 11:00 am | Readers 5358

I was in the house the other day (as we all were) and I turned on the radio. Talkback was on with two regular contributors who were presumably disagreeing vigorously about something. I turned it straight off and four or five days later I still haven’t a clue what they were debating. That doesn’t matter because I’m pretty certain I know the positions they were taking on it (whatever it was) and the tone of how the “debate” progressed. What …

“Journalists have always had to have integrity”

Paul Gosling on May 11, 2020, 8:01 am | Readers 678

The media are at a crossroads, with fears over the future of some of Northern Ireland’s best known newspapers. Existing trends favouring social media over print newspapers have been accelerated by the Covid-19 crisis, with additional financial pressures from a collapse in advertising revenues. This is an appropriate moment to reflect on the future of the media and on ethical responsibilities on journalists working in a post-conflict society. The latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust features an interview …

Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom! – Little Richard 1932 – 2020…

Ron Keegan on May 9, 2020, 4:43 pm | Readers 953

He saw. He conquered. We came. Ever heard of the MultiVerse theory? Oversimplified, the Multiverse is the sum of all potential parallel universes. It is a hypothetical construct, elegant in its mathematics. Some scientists think it is theoretically plausible. Others dismiss it for lack of any hard evidence. Obviously they never listened to Little Richard (aka Wayne Penniman). The first time I saw Richard was on live American TV was the Tennessee Ernie Ford show in 1961. As I recall …

How does our press emerge from lockdown? Part three: Regional Sunday Newspapers

Ian Clarke on May 5, 2020, 8:35 am | Readers 1153

I hadn’t planned a third instalment of this series as frankly I have little to no interest in the local Sunday newspaper market these days. Certainly my days of buying five or six Sundays that would see me through to midweek are long gone and, apart from a quick browse of the football sections (usually when I’m in Costa or Nero for an afternoon coffee) there’s not a lot on the front pages of our local Sundays to entice me …

With Paywall in Place, has the Tele Lost its Welly?

Hugo on May 4, 2020, 7:05 am | Readers 1276

Ten years ago, the Belfast Telegraph received a prestigious UK Award for Digital News Service of the Year. This was followed by multiple awards for website of the year, huge growth in on-line readers, and a new platform for digital debate that attracted thousands of comments. But with the installation of a new paywall on 19 May, are these achievements now at risk? Will the free and open voice of liberal unionism be silenced to all save a minority of …

SDLP suggestion for saving the press welcome, but publishers must dig deep too

Ian Clarke on April 23, 2020, 8:48 am | Readers 868

Earlier this month I uploaded two articles here asking how our local press might emerge from lockdown and sharing my concerns about the ability of some of them to do so. Since then the future of regional and local newspapers all over the UK has become a pretty hot topic, with staff being furloughed at most papers and others even indefinitely suspending publication. Local journalists – including quite a few very good ones of my acquaintance – have been tweeting …

How does our press emerge from lockdown? Part two: Regional Daily Newspapers

Ian Clarke on April 15, 2020, 10:36 am | Readers 2007

Last week wrote of our local weekly newspaper sector and of the need to save them. I also said that I thought a lot of them COULD be saved if the will is there. But what of our three dailies? There may be less scope there for a happy ending in a sector that across the British Isles has been in freefall for over a decade. Up until the end of the troubles, the picture here was a simple one. …

Watch: #SluggerTV episode 36 – the one about the RHI report, a beneficent Chancellor, draconian legislation and the NI Executive’s reaction to COVID-19

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 6, 2020, 5:17 pm | Readers 360

March’s episode of Slugger TV was broadcast as part of Imagine! Belfast’s virtual festival and is currently showing on community TV channel NvTv. Here’s the video for any of you who missed my conversation with journalist Allison Morris and festival director Pete O’Neill. We discussed the publication of the Renewable Heat Incentive inquiry report [Ed – anyone remember that?], the Chancellor’s beneficent schemes to businesses impacted by COVID-19, the somewhat draconian measures being rapidly legislated into law, and how the …

How does our press emerge from lockdown? Part one: Local Weekly Newspapers

Ian Clarke on April 6, 2020, 12:56 pm | Readers 1189

In the past few weeks, we’ve heard a lot from the concerned voices representing various of our local industry sectors, all of them understandably concerned about how Covid-19 will impact their sector and how they will emerge from it. All legitimate concerns that we should share. But as yet we’ve heard little from the sector, I believe could be the biggest casualty of all, and one we would never be able to replace – the local newspaper industry. News outlets …

The Irish News should buy the News Letter…

Brian O'Neill on April 3, 2020, 9:14 am | Readers 4093

I have been thinking about the death spiral of newspapers. If the internet was not bad enough, along comes Covid-19 to wipe out sales and advertising revenue. In particular, I have been contemplating the fate of the News Letter. As you may know, it is the oldest English language daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. Now whatever you think of its politics or the opinions of some of its writers, you would have to agree …