Media are criticised over some presidential coverage

The public was in an ugly mood because of the treatment of some of the candidates in the recent presidential contest by sections…

The public was in an ugly mood because of the treatment of some of the candidates in the recent presidential contest by sections of the media, suggested broadcaster Mr Paschal Mooney (FF).

The electorate did not like the tenor and, in some instances, the outright prejudices of certain media commentators, he said.

"In fact the media did not win any new friends in recent weeks."

It was interesting, whether it was a coincidence or not, that the voting patterns in the Dublin constituencies south of the Liffey were out of kilter with those in the remainder of the country.

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Was it just a coincidence that the vast majority of those working in the Dublin-based media lived and worked in those very constituencies? These people talked to each other and obviously expressed and exchanged opinions and then used those opinions in their columns, with some honourable exceptions, to lecture the rest of the country on how it should vote.

The rest of the country had not listened to such lecturing on this occasion.

What had been going on in recent months in relation to this kind of activity was an unhealthy scenario in a democratic society.

Mr Mooney said he wished to put on record that he believed passionately in the freedom of the press, and as a member of the National Union of Journalists for the past 20 years, he was probably better placed than other senators to appreciate the pressures and difficulties faced by a free press in trying to get its message across objectively and without fear or favour.

He also believed that some in public life particularly had hidden behind the restrictive libel laws operating in this State, which were not, generally speaking, in the public interest.

He agreed with the National Newspaper Industry that national newspapers did not seek any favoured position in law but merely the recognition by the community at large that, in addition to a need to preserve balance between the individual's right to his or her good name and the media's right to freedom of expression, there existed an additional overriding public concern - the right to freedom of information.

Mr Mooney was contributing to the debate on a Fine Gael motion calling on the Government to indicate what progress had been made towards implementing the recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry.

The Minister of State for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Noel Treacy, recalled the Commission had recommended that, in the exercise of the available regulatory powers, the senior Minister should assess the implications of any proposed change of ownership in the newspaper industry on the strength and competitiveness of the industry in relation to UK titles, the plurality of ownership, the plurality of titles, the diversity of news in Irish society and the maintenance of cultural diversity.

With the exception of the strength and competitiveness of the industry in relation to UK titles - which the former Minister felt might contravene EU law - "we have now referred these to the Competitions and Mergers Review Group, to advise the Tanaiste on how best they might be implemented. The review group is equipped with wide-ranging legal and economic expertise."