Madam, – Thanks to John Waters, honesty, truthfulness, honour, veracity, uprightness – in other words, integrity – are alive and breathing in The Irish Times. Mr Waters's excellent column (Opinion, March 27th) should be put under glass and hung in all public galleries – and on the main wall of the entrance foyer at RTÉ.
His analysis also serves as a mirror held up to the snide, sarcastic and spiteful nature of the letters (with regard to the offensive material about the Brian Cowen portraits) that filled the letters page of The Irish Times on the same day. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In his column on the nude caricatures of Brian Cowen, John Waters goes to great lengths to castigate the artist responsible for their creation and temporary display. Mr Waters, of course, is perfectly entitled to his opinion that the artist “cannot draw” and that the caricatures are “crude, unfunny, vindictive, without intrinsic content and wholly lacking in artistic merit”. But the highly personal nature of his attack is unwarranted. Two years ago, when Mr Waters co-wrote the song that represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, voters throughout the continent of Europe deemed the song he co-wrote to be the worst in the competition.
Waters wrote honestly and movingly in this newspaper about how the whole Eurovision experience affected him and he did so with considerable dignity. All the more disappointing then, that he seeks to put such effort into crudely vilifying an artist who, judging by the public reaction to his work, has considerable claim to artistic merit. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Take one well-plucked taoiseach. Boil. Reduce to quivering mass. Add in over-zealous press officers and a dash of spicy civil servants. Stir in gardaí and mix vigorously. Meanwhile, lightly fry the media.
Allow to simmer gently –. et voilà: the perfect recipe for laughing stock. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Regarding the indignant reaction of the likes of Liz McManus and Enda Kenny to the alacrity with which RTÉ issued its (appropriate) apology (March 27th). A classic case of politicians playing to the gallery? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I would like to express my dismay at RTÉ’s handling of the so-called Picturegate affair, which was a grossly offensive attack on the personal appearance of an individual.
A female public figure, or indeed a member of another political party, would not have been subjected to this kind of scornful reporting.
I have contacted the Broadcasting Complaints Commission accordingly. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As someone who is neither a politician, nor a member of any political party, nor thin-skinned, I flatly disagree with Mark Daly (March 26th).
As citizens, we can agree or disagree with the Taoiseach on the merits or otherwise of policy issues, but when sections of the media, most notably but not exclusively RTÉ, vilify the office of taoiseach and the Taoiseach personally by disseminating caricatures of him, I must protest in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack of a personal nature and there is no way of excusing it on the basis that it represents the freedom of the press to report news.
The media like to portray themselves as the moral and ethical judges of society, the judge and jury who preach daily from the pulpit of rectitude about standards in every segment of society except their own. Nothing escapes censure from these critics who use the scattergun without any form of accountability. With press freedom goes responsibility, but perhaps that is too much to expect in a world where the “scoop” justifies the means. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In these turbulent times only one thing appears certain: the artists’ tax exemption will be hit on the April 7th. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On March 25th I listened to Fianna Fáil TD Michael Kennedy on different radio shows, on different channels, calling for heads to roll at RTÉ. The crime? Reporting a newsworthy item. This is the function of RTÉ news and the reason we pay a TV licence fee.
I would have thought Mr Kennedy had more important work to do than contributing to radio shows, sensationalising a news item. His constituents might be able to suggest better use of his time and their money. I know our police force certainly has more important work to do.
Considering Mr Kennedy’s views on RTÉ and how the Government has performed over the last while, is it now official Government policy that people be fired for doing their jobs? This would fit its policy of rewarding incompetence, arrogance and greed. – Yours, etc,