The Return Of The Ra!

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) in all their prevalent splinter forms decided to don arms over the past couple of months. The killings of two British Army soldiers at the Massarreene Barracks in Co.Antrim and then the murder of the Catholic PSNI man Stephen Carroll sent a clear and concise message tot he people of the world and Gerry Adams was right: They're not gone away you know!



For decades hardened journalists became accustomed to reporting sectarian murders and bombs and all sorts of other guerrilla warfare orientated attacks. But now it seems the new and inexperienced journalists don't have much of a grasp on things.



For example on Sky News as the barracks shootings were breaking, Sky News thought it on themselves to have the words "Sinn Fein attacks barracks" on its little yellow ticker. Their are 2 sides to this : maybe it was a seasoned journalist having a probing jab at the former political wing of the Provos or maybe it was an inexperienced journalists thinking both the RIRA and the CIRA fall under the orders of Sinn Fein. I fear it may be the latter.



People , especially journalists, must wise up the on going political situation in Northern Ireland. Naivety may cause lives. Silly slanderous regards about ' legitimate' political parties must not be tolerated. People must read again and this develop their own solid factual knowledge of the situation up North.



Most editorials in both Irish and British newspapers read along the lines of 'let's not delve back into those dark, dark days. But there has never really been a light at the end of that proverbial sectarian trouble. The least a journalist can do is get his facts right and not get lost within his or her own uneducated analysis of a turbulent semi-state!

The Press and Jade Goody

When Jade Goody was first diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer, the printed media's coverage was less than objective. Here was a woman who had sold her personal life for money ever since she made her moronic mark in Big Brother years previously.

Although Ms. Goody's diagnosis was terrible and her prognosis even worse, I felt somewhat ashamed to be part of such a fickle industry.

The British press, especially the 'red tops' were treating Ms.Goody as the 'People's Princess', some working class hero who stood up in the face of adversity and took on her illness. The reality star's courage and bravery is not in question here. No, rather it is the similarities to Princess Diana that were made which completely appalled me. This woman was not half the woman the Princess of Wales was. FULL STOP. This point is not open to argument.

The sub-editors of papers like the News of the World should be ashamed of themselves. 'Goodbye Princess' their headline the day after her funeral. Only a week previously had one of their columnists lambasted the fickle nature of the printed media for the overly-sympathetic display towards a woman to whom most people regarded as somebody with no discernible talents.

My heart goes out to her family and especially children, but the press needs to look at itself closely and do the professional thing: objectivity is the cornerstone of journalism.