Media bashing

The smile from the Tanaiste Mary Harney on the front page of The Irish Times on Wednesday was not entirely due to the public …

The smile from the Tanaiste Mary Harney on the front page of The Irish Times on Wednesday was not entirely due to the public apology she had just received from the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, over his representations in the Sheedy affair. She was laughing because her ploy of sneaking out a back entrance in the car of one of her officials, while the state car remained outside the department as a decoy to avoid the media in Kildare Street, was foiled when two photographers caught her. But despite the circumstances, the smile didn't last long. As photographers jossled for position one of the cameras was hit by the car's windscreen, or maybe the mirror, as it made a getaway and the camera in turn hit the photographer in the face. Everyone involved got a nasty fright.