2 November 2006 Edition
Media View
Tony O'Reilly aghast that Michael O'Leary might be blowing the whole plan
Trivialisation of major news stories is a constant theme of our present day press, but equally significant is the sheer disregard for accuracy in the presentation of stories. It's the old adage 'Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.'
A good example of this during the week was the continuing coverage of the Aer Lingus story, and the Ryanair bid to take the company over now that the Government has thrown the former state airline to the wolves.
Michael O'Leary, of course, has made no bones about his desire to cut the workforce as a means of forcing profits up, and his blatant presentation of this objective was too crass.
O'Leary's prescription increased public nervousness about the Ryanair bid, and of course stiffened the resolve of the Aer Lingus' unions to fight him tooth and nail.
Those vultures who are now circling about the Aer Lingus wagon, smacking their greedy lips in eager anticipation of the rich pickings to come - the likes of Tony O'Reilly, for example - were aghast that O'Leary might be blowing the whole plan and forcing the Government to increase its holding in the privatised company to secure jobs and the national interest.
That could only be bad news for the speculators.
Wasn't it a godsend then that Aer Lingus management matched O'Leary's job cuts plan with one of their own. Or did they?
The Irish Independent reported last week that Aer Lingus management was planning to cut substantial numbers of jobs in the airline itself. Reporter Tom McEnaney claimed that "chief executive Dermot Mannion told representatives of the company's 3,500 employees there would have to be drastic cuts if it is to compete with Michael O'Leary's airline. He made it clear there would be significant job losses".
Naturally this caused consternation, especially as the union representatives at the meeting had heard no such plans discussed. Was the management briefing journalists on the side to fly the kite and use Ryanair as an excuse to demand more job cuts?
The union spokesperson went on radio to say that SIPTU knew nothing about these plans and was seeking an urgent meeting to discuss them. Then Aer Lingus itself went on air and categorically denied that any such plans had been put forward by them or were planned in any way.
This left poor McEnaney on the spot, the implication being that he had either made the story up or had got it wrong.
So Tom came out the following day, not to apologise for having made a mistake but to insist that "Aer Lingus confirmed last night that it had warned union representatives that job cuts would be necessary to see off the competitive threat posed by Ryanair".
Strangely enough, Aer Lingus has not "confirmed" this story to any other journalist or to any other newspaper.
It's also strange that McEnaney's version of events fits exactly the news agenda that Indo bosses would like put forward at this time, for Tony O'Reilly - sorry, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, as Mr McEnaney would obsequiously call him - wants to try and dispel the wave of support for Aer Lingus that has emerged from the Ryanair bid and the obvious fiasco of the privatisation of the company.
So, who do you believe? The unions, the Aer Lingus management, or the reporter hired by Tony O'Reilly?
The non-story of the week, however, also goes to the Indo. This was the concocted row over Taoiseach Bertie Ahern speeding. Actually, Bertie didn't speed at all, as he wasn't driving. His driver was a member of the Garda Síochána. But that didn't stop the Indo adopting pious mode and moaning po-faced about double standards at the top.
The only 'evidence' for the story was a report by the Irish Times' Miriam Lord, who claimed that while she kept to the speed limit the Taoiseach disappeared from view. However, Bertie pointed out that he couldn't have been going that fast because Lord kept up with him all day.
Well, who's telling the truth here? Either he sped out of view in a cloud of dust, or Ms Lord stayed with him all day? But don't hold your breath for the Indo to let you know.
After all, their motto is never to let the facts get in the way of a good story.