Sir, - With reference to Medb Ruane's column of October 12th ("Magill is walking a fine line"), we wish to make the following points:
1. Ms Ruane refers to an article concerning the Laffoy Commission in the October issue of Magill as having been written by "an anonymous writer". The fact that articles in the "Attitudes" section of Magill are unsigned is not an attempt to conceal the identity of the authors, but rather an editorial policy which seeks to prioritise issues over personalities. They are no more anonymous than an Irish Times editorial.
It therefore goes without saying that responsibility for the views contained therein lies with the consulting editor, John Waters, and the managing editor, Declan Lawn.
As soon as Magill was contacted by RT╔ with regard to the article in question, no secret whatsoever was made of the fact that John Waters was the author of the piece. RT╔'s Liveline programme asserted this fact every day for an entire week before Ms Ruane╣s column appeared.
2. For Ms Ruane to suggest that the article was published in a deliberate attempt to seek publicity for the magazine is scurrilous and wrong. It is an insult to every member of Magill's editorial staff. The magazine was available in newsagents for 10 days before the first public mention of the piece was made on Liveline, at the instigation of that programme╣s producers. No reference was made to the article in question in any of our radio advertising or promotional campaigns.
3. Ms Ruane's assertions concerning Magill's circulation figures are inaccurate and lacking any basis in fact (apart, perhaps, from the speculations of anonymous "others"). Perhaps her statement that "facts did not get in Magill's way" has more relevance to Ms Ruane herself.
We see Ms Ruane's comparison with last year's Mary Ellen Synon column on the paralympics as an attempt to instigate a media witch-hunt. It further demonstrates the disturbingly illiberal tendencies of so-called "liberal" journalism in this country. - Yours etc,,
Declan Lawn, Managing Editor,
Niina Hepojoki, Senior Reporter,
Sandra Mara, Senior Reporter,
Magill, Camden Place, Dublin 2.