Top Issue 1-2024

27 August 2010

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Media view

Ireland number one on ‘freedom index’

WELCOME to the 17th best place in the world, according to Newsweek magazine.

If you doubt that rating in the post-Celtic Tiger impoverished state that is the 26 Counties now, well catch up on their top 10 world leaders. You will find basking at number five is Brian Cowen.

Yep, you have not been abducted by aliens and transplanted to a parallel but fake Ireland - that’s what Newsweek says. The two Brians, Cowen and Lenihan, rock the Newsweek world.

You can read it all free at newsweek.com with an “interactive infographic” of how they formulated the ratings and a bio of “fiscal taskmaster” Brian Cowen.

Within the Newsweek data there are niggling questions, such as the 99% literacy rate, questioned by other studies, particularly those of the OECD and the Educational Disadvantage Centre in Dublin. Have a look at nala.ie, the National Adult Literacy Agency, and you will see a figure where 25% of Irish adults have literacy difficulties.

The 26 Counties also scores ‘1’ on the Newsweek “freedom index”, the highest ranking you can get. 

Newsweek was sold this month (by The Washington Post) for $1. The new owners have to stem losses that have totalled $44million over the past three years.

The invisible government

Cowen and Lenihan will account for at least some sales of the magazine in Ireland this week. Will they claim it on expenses though?

The two have been almost invisible during their month off, silent on the news of another €11.5billion hoovered up by Anglo Irish Bank, and €4billion for EBS and Irish Nationwide, the state debts mounting.

The entire Cabinet has been silent on the media drip-feed of leaks about December’s budget and what will or won’t be cut and what taxes are going up. This softening-up process and selective leaking of Government cutbacks, road-tested to see what public and media outrage it generates, continues.

In recent weeks there have been media debates on third-level fees, privatising state-owned businesses not already sold off in the 1990s, cutting social welfare payments, health and education spending without any Government comment.

Why ever not?

Shock news: Brian Lenihan looks at books

Brian Lenihan is not entirely absent from the all-seeing media eye.

An ongoing Fine Gael-created fiasco about him addressing a Michael Collins commemoration questions how many ways can Fine Gael TDs divert media attention from the economy and Fianna Fáil failures. Answer - to infinity and beyond.

And then two papers ran pictures in mid-August of Brian Lenihan browsing in Waterstones. Okay, he wasn’t wearing a tie but is this important?

The too-visible Joan Burton

One person developing multimedia superpowers is Joan Burton. We have joanburton.ie, Joan Burton on Twitter and also Joan Burton on RTÉ, TV and radio and most newspapers.

Burton has become the ubiquitous voice of Labour. It began with The Sunday Tribune hyping her as the next Finance Minister and has rolled on relentlessly. Use The Irish Times search engine to see how many times Joan appears in the paper and see the summer spike for yourself.

BBC weatherman points the way

Check out YouTube for the most controversial weatherman since Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Who knew the BBC teaches presenters sign language? Search for BBC Tomas Schafernaker.

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Uncomfortable Conversations 

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An initiative for dialogue 

for reconciliation 

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Contributions from key figures in the churches, academia and wider civic society as well as senior republican figures

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