SOME ELEMENTS of the media are more concerned with tarnishing Limerick city's reputation than dealing with the core problems of gangland crime, a seminar on crime and the media has heard.
Dr Michael Breen, head of the department of media and communications at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, made his comments at the first public forum organised by the Press Council of Ireland and the office of the Press Ombudsman which took place in Limerick last night.
Also speaking at the event was Prof Thomas Mitchell, chairman of the new Press Council of Ireland, who explained the press council and ombudsman had been set up to defend the role of the press in society but also to provide a system of accountability in which all concerned could have equal confidence.
Dr Breen said Ireland had been well served by its media and, despite what some people might think, so had Limerick.
However, he added, "for some there is more concern with the tarnishing of the city's reputation than with the actual core problem of gang-related crime".
The media, he said, had failed to report the detail of many urban problems "because poverty, social deprivation and the reality of urban ghetto life are not hot news topics.
"The truth is that class actually matters, in spite of our common denial of it. If you are not the right class, you can't easily get access to good education, easy loans, full mortgages or ready jobs. And you certainly can't get easy access to media," said Dr Breen.
"The media focus on crime has not been paralleled by an equal focus on the heartbreak, fear and intimidation of which Bishop Donal Murray speaks. The mass media generally do not provide any significant analysis of the causes of social deprivation, of homelessness, of poverty, of urban violence, of educational failure. It is in that context that one can rightly say that the media have failed to meet the needs of these communities," he added.
Prof John Horgan, the Press Ombudsman, suggested there was no evidence that graphic condemnatory coverage of crime had any effect on the crime rate or on the motivation of criminals.
"Indeed, there are anecdotal suggestions that younger criminals, in particular, regard media attention, no matter how critical - and perhaps the more critical the better - as a kind of macho validation of their status and something that enhances their appreciation by their peers."
This was the first journey by the press council outside the capital, and the new ombudsman plans to make three to four visits to centres around Ireland over the coming year. Members of the public were invited to speak to Mr Horgan and his case officer, Bernie Grogan, at the Hilton Hotel in Limerick. About a dozen availed of the opportunity.
One gentleman who did not wish to be named said he was interested in finding out more about the procedure involved and what the functions of the new Press Council of Ireland are. "I have read a lot in the newspapers about the new press council and I was very interested in coming along to avail of the opportunity to find out more about it and how complaints can be made," he said.
