Blurred Keys

Mediaforum.ie has published “excerpts of ‘about us’ descriptions of a sample of Irish media owners”, following such excerpts there is a list of what each is “responsible for”. The list for at least Independent News and Media is massively incomplete, making it at best misleading.

The INM list some-how fails to include high profile publications, including the Evening Herald, the Sunday World, the Star, and Herald AM. Less obvious, it fails to record the control INM has over the Sunday Tribune.

INM ownership or part ownership of media outlets in the UK, Australasia, South Africa, and India, is not worth bringing up when the Mediaforum.ie listing fails to draw a realistic listing of their dominance of newspapers in Ireland.

Elsewhere, the listings under Emap lists Irish radio stations they own, but fails to name any of its newsstand publications, which include entertainment magazines Empire, Kerrang!, Mojo, and Q; woman mags heat, closer, Grazia, Yours, and New Woman; and ‘lad mags’ FHM, and ZOO.

While the listing under the Irish Times Trust list the paper it self and myhome.ie, it fails to list the nicemove.ie, as well as the part ownership (less obvious, again) of the Dublin freesheet Metro.

For an article focused on the ‘about us’ sections of media outlets not to include full listings of what each are “responsible for”, it could be seen as far more telling then any mission statement.

The phrase ‘A little information is a dangerous thing’ is a never-ending thought in my mind…

The official figures for new eastern European workers in Britain published today showing that 447,000 have applied for registered work since May 2004 explode the claims that there are more than a million new migrants flooding into Britain each year, writes Alan Travis.

A good 40% of those who registered in 2004 were already in Britain
working illegally when Poland and the other 8 former Communist states
joined the EU that year. Poles make up 250,000 of the 447,000 who have
registered, making claims that there are one million Poles living in
Britain look rather exaggerated.

Gatsby, the publisher of Irish blog Blogorrah, has launched a second
Ireland focused blog, the Barefoot Sports Fan. The sports blog is edited by Sligo
"journalist/author/deviant" Declan Burke.

A post Blogorrah.com states "Just in time for the football season, Ryder Cup, GAA finals and the
World Bog-Snorkelling Championship is The Barefoot Fan
(barefootfan.com)" adding "If you are looking for comprehensive sports
coverage, try Sky. But if you yearn for "snarky" opinions, jaded
observations and frankly offensive, (and obvious) uses for the word
Scunthorpe. Barefoot is your only man".

Also see: Blogorrah.com - the start of empire building with “very few overheads”

- “North America is still the only territory where the Xbox 360 has seen major success”

Rob Fahey, editor of Gamesindustry.biz, claims that in the new
console war pro-Microsoft reporting is “influenced heavily by the
American dominance of English-language media”, and that “whereas the
Xbox 360 has sold 3.3 million units in North America, it has sold only
1.3 million in Europe and just 400,000 elsewhere”. Pointing to the
PlayStation’s broader appeal with different demographic worldwide, but
criticizing the firm’s “arrogance”.

In a dig at the mainstream media and analysts, as well as real “fanboys”, Fahey says “Fanboy arguments supported by misconception and
exaggeration abound - and that’s just in the mainstream media and among
analysts. What’s going on in Internet forums makes even less sense”.

Gamesindustry.biz is a business-focused computer games site published by Eurogamer Network, the site has a greater industry-based worldwide reach then their sister consumer site Eurogamer.net, both sites are seen to be highly respected. The firm recently launched Eurogamer.tv a trailer and video interview service, and are soon to launch a German spin-off, Eurogamer.de.
Eurogamer.net prides their self as being the only ABC tracked games
website, last year MD, Rupert Loman said, "we hope that the other games
sites will follow our lead to help further increase the credibility of
the online advertising sector for the benefit of all."

Last week a Games Toaster / Blurred Keys
report of the Irish multi-format games charts found that the
PlayStation is very much so the leading player in Ireland. With
multi-format games, Microsoft’s consoles combined cannot even compete
with Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

Would MCD have a reason for saying "But with
all major events we want people to safely enjoy themselves”? (from an MCD press release vie blogorrah.com)…

Hi:Fi Ireland - A good time will be had by all!!
…"We strategically
want people not to be aware of the OZ like figures behind the curtain.
These should have sense of spontaneity, it adds to atmosphere. But with
all major events we want people to safely enjoy themselves.” said,
Denis Desmond MD of MCD Promotions.

Behind the "curtain" MCD has been taking care of millions of people
over thousands of shows for the past 20 years and the people taking
care of our guests, take it all in their stride, because it’s all part
of the job.

Memo to Irish journalists: When a court says someone is not guilty of a crime because they had a lawfully excuse, simply, it means there was no crime. No if, buts, or puffs. You might think what they did was right or wrong, you may hold the view it was a crime, however the facts are a not guilty verdict means there was no criminal act. A perpetrated act is not a criminal act unless there is a guilty verdict.

When five anti-war protesters were acquitted of causing damage without a lawful excuse to a US Navy aeroplane some in the Irish media got it erroneously to misleadingly wrong. Besides this, the ongoing reporting of the trial was thin on the ground, while the coverage of the verdict was somewhat buried according to Harry Browne’s column in this weeks Village magazine (due online on August 11).

In last week’s edition of the same publication, Harry Browne and William Hederman give the most in-depth explanation Blurred Keys has seen of the lead up the allowance of the lawfully excuse plea. A sub-article states, “It has emerged uncontested in all three trials that the Pitstop Ploughshares did nothing to interfere with the garda on duty in the Shannon hangar and comforted him when he appeared distressed by their presence. It also emerged that they completed their "disarmament" to their own satisfaction before handing over their tools voluntarily”. Allegations that the protesters did otherwise have just, well, vanished into the archives.