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Irish Times*
Monday, 20 October 2014
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Journalist describes four-year legal battle
with Nama over meaning of ‘including’
Irish Times editor Kevin
O’Sullivan and RTE’s current
affairs managing editor David
A dispute between a journalist
Nally spoke of the importance
and Nama on the meaning of
of investigative journalism and
the word “including” has spent
the future of news in an age of
four years in the Irish courts
digital dissonance.
with a final judgement expected
Mr O’Sullivan described investigative
from the Supreme Court
journalism as a key
soon, the Cleraun Media Conference
component of the added value a
heard. Journalist Gavin
newspaper can provide. He
Sheridan detailed his battle
said the traditional information
with the agency which started
flow from news organisation to
in 2009 when he tried to use EU
reader had changed and become
environmental legislation to extract
“a grand conversation”.
information on its operations.
DIT journalism students with Press Ombudsman Peter Feeney A challenge facing newspapers
was how to respond to the
Nama was not covered by at the Cleraun Media Conference, photograph: nick bradshaw
changing patterns of digital consumption
Freedom of Information legislation
among readers.
but Mr Sheridan realised it
Mr Nally said RTE needed to
could be forced to shine at least mation is a fundamental right, Times who now works for Independent
News and Media, said learn lessons from the property
some light on how it was doing and a core principal which empowers
“the notion that the media did bubble, including being “more
all citizens.”
business by way of an Environmental
the bidding of Government and alive to the vested interests that
Information regulation
business is completely at odds some economists serve”.
covering public bodies, “including Media consensus
The director of the International
with my experience”.
There was a livelyexchange between
.. . a board or other body established
Consortium of Investigative
Irish Times journalist Colm
UCD academic Julien
by or under statute”.
Initially Nama denied it was a Mercille and economist Dan Keena gave a workshop in investigative Journalists, Gerard Ryle,
journalism, in which he who has won international acclaim
public body and then, when O’Brien.Mr Mercille said while
for exposing financial, political
forced to accept it was, claimed economists were “mistaken stressed the importance of
and medical scandals,
scratching the surface of PR
the “including” in the legislationabout the bubble, training journalists
gave the keynote presentation
actually meant “may include”. [to be more economically spin to get to the truth.
“If you are not casual with to close the conference. He was
literate] would not have
the facts then people close to then presented with the
Mr Sheridan took the case to changed too much”.
He said sceptics who suggested the story will begin to trust you Cleraun Award for Outstanding
ombudsman and information
all was not right with the and they might be more inclined Contribution to Journalism.
commissioner Emily O’Reilly,
to respect you,” he said.
who ruled in his favour. Nama economy “were drowned out in
then took the case to the High print”.
Court, which also ruled in his favour, A media consensus and an unwillingness
to challenge political
prompting the agency to
and business consensus had
appeal to the Supreme Court.
played a role in magnifying the
scale of the crisis, he added.
Freedom of information
“Everyone has a riglht to freedom Mr O’Brien disputed this
of expression butt freedom view, placing the blame squarely
on economists. “We didn’t
of expression is useless without
think [the banking sector] was a
access to freedom of information,”
Sheridan told the assembledrisk and that was a major mistake.
We were supposed to be
delegates at the 15th
Cleraun Media Conference the experts. Journalists are not
which had as its theme: Getting the experts,” he said.
Mr O’Brien, a former economics
It Right This Time.
editor of The Irish
“Your right to access inforCONORPOPE
: