the consequences of simulated violence

The British Government yesterday announced plans to outlaw all ‘violent pornography’ with a potential three year stint in jail for those found in posession of such material, however the legislation seems to be devoid of real logic and substance and is more of an attempt to appease rather than improve. As is my understanding most [...]

Where is The Dublin Paper?

In a mixture of thinking out loud and researching a potential article it has stuck in my mind that Dublin lacks a county-wide daily newspaper, the likes of which are common across the country. I know part of the reason why this is; all but one of the country’s daily nationals publishes out of the [...]

That was the week that blogged (20th – 27th August)

Welcome one and all to the second ‘That Was The Week That Blogged’. Bloggers this week took two of Ireland’s greatest anti-heroes to task; in one case getting their heads around the sporting event of the season (so far) and in another waxing lyrical on an ad campaign that can simply be described as… eye [...]

Online media suffer inadequate legal protection (SBP – 27 August 2006)

My article from today’s Sunday Business Post: Irish law is inadequate in its protection of those involved in online media, according to TJ McIntyre, barrister and chairman of lobby group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI). Under eCommerce legislation, ISPs (Internet Service Providers) are offered some protection ‘‘but that doesn’t cover the likes of bulletin boards or [...]

A policy of doing the popular thing, not the right thing

As silly season nears an end and we head towards the start of the real election campaign and a new Dáil term the cynic in me says we should prepare for more political policies and decisions that will defy logic but appeal to what seems like the majority, even if they are just the very [...]

Weekly blog feature; day change

Just a quick heads-up ahead of the fact; the week in blogs feature which started last Sunday is being moved to Monday afternoon instead. As means of an explanation, let me give you three reasons, none more or less important than the other; Firstly Sundays tend to be slow-blog days; most people switch the computer [...]

Making the most of the web

The second article I ever had published was a piece on one of my favourite bands, Pearl Jam, and their decision to sell a digital download & physical CD bundle online as a way of giving fans the best of both worlds in their album purchase. Last night I was lucky enough to be in [...]

Developing a brand in journalism

A wise and experienced journalist recently suggested to me that the personal ‘brand’ of a journalist is the key to the attainment of success. This brand does not come from the publication you work for or the topic of journalism you pursue but instead your ability to produce quality within whatever given niché you operate [...]

Broadcasting act finally moving ahead

Yesterday’s Tribune reported on upcoming Government legislation (reg req) that will see RTÉ becoming a semi-state body, the BCI and BCC merging into the BAI (which will have authority over every Irish TV station, including RTÉ and TG4). The foundations for this move, just like that of an independent TG4 were laid out in 2001 [...]

Sport in the headlines

Editors at BBC News took an interesting line-up in their news coverage during Sunday and Monday morning, putting this story, about a cricket match forfeit ahead of other stories such as the death of a British soldier in Afghanistan and the arrest of a teenager suspected of involvement in the death of an elderly man [...]