Category: Articles

This article first appeared in Village magazine, October/November 2024 edition When ScandiNoir crime drama Bron/Broen first debuted on Irish television screens a decade ago, I joked on Twitter that RTE should hook up with the BBC to make an Irish version, with a Garda and a PSNI detective forced to work together. They could even…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, October/November 2024 edition At the time of writing (mid-September 2024) location filming is well under way in the Donegal town of Ballyshannon for Season 2 of “Obituary”, an Irish black comedy television series available on RTÉ at home and Hulu in the USA. As a freelance journalist watching…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, June/July/August 2024 edition Two new journalism schemes could point the way to a path for a revamp of public service journalism and reporting in the coming months. Coimisiún na Meán invited submissions on the local democracy reporting fund and courts reporting funds in Spring, and is now assessing…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, June/July/August 2024 edition THE NEWS business has always been a difficult industry but the media landscape in 2024 is looking particularly challenging for journalists at the moment, particularly as a freelancer. In January, Mediahuis, owners of the Independent, Sunday World, Belfast Telegraph and other well known titles, said…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, February/March 2024 edition A few summers ago, walking around an agricultural show on a sunny Sunday afternoon with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air, I came across a vendor selling candy floss, proudly labelled “Fat Free” and “Gluten Free”. In the same way, every Silicon Valley…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, February/March 2024 edition After a hectic year of high-profile inquiries, sackings, and Oireachtas hearings, Ryan Tubridy finds himself at the helm of a morning radio programme, beaming down to Dubliners from London. Yet it is not a Tubridy his old audience on RTÉ would recognise. The latest iteration…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, July/August 2023 edition There is a commonly cited statistic that 70% of domestic legislation originates in Brussels. Sometimes, the figure is 75%, or 80%. It’s an odd statistic, not least because it is not clear how law might be quantified. Is it based on the number of acts,…

This article first appeared in Village magazine, July/August 2023 edition Three months after taking over the functions of the now defunct Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, three commissioners laid out their wares at a press briefing on the future of Irish media regulation on the eve of midsummer’s day. The commissioners make up the Media Commission,…