Review of the Year

Being highly exposed to the media as I am, in the line of duty of course, there are so many highs and lows – material that is depressingly grim or uplifting and inspiring. I thought it would be good to start on a positive note.

In broad strokes, there have been engaging documentaries, well-crafted and very human dramas, current affairs programmes that deal with issues fairly and thoroughly. Nationwide (RTE One) continues to provide interesting and low-key stories from around the country – e.g. in February they covered how well Ukrainian refugees were integrating into Irish communities. Sunday Morning Live (BBC One) is a magazine type show which has lots of lifestyle items but also serious debates on the controversies of the day, e.g. episodes on assisted dying and ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics. Most importantly, it tries hard and succeeds at having well balanced discussions, with conservative and liberal voices getting parity of treatment. I listen a lot to UK-based Times Radio via phone app or internet radio and it features a wide range of views with excellent presenters and journalists. Political anoraks will never be stuck as there is talk radio all day and repeats all through the night.

On the home front the religious affairs programme Witness (RTE Radio 1), ably presented by Siobhán Garrigan, had a short run early in the year I remember an episode in which Fr Tod Nolan gave presenter Siobhán Garrigan a guide to the Stations of the Cross at Ballintubber Abbey, Co. Mayo. This show has just recently been succeeded in the Friday night slot by Our Divine Sparks presented by Dearbhail McDonald. The signs are promising so far – e.g. an interview with Fr Aidan Troy about the revival of Notre Dame Cathedral. I wish such shows were more regular – similar programmes like Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster) and Sunday (BBC Radio 4) manage to keep going the whole year. Songs of Praise (BBC One) continues every Sunday afternoon with a relaxing combination of spiritual stories and music, with a prayer sequence at the end featuring the contributors from earlier in the show. They frequently visit holy sites in Northern Ireland (e.g. for St Patrick’s Day). It’s good to see mainstream channels taking religious programming seriously, but if you want it more often there’s always the excellent output of Spirit Radio, Radio Maria or EWTN.

Mr Bates v. the Post Office (UTV/ITV and Virgin Media One) was a fine drama series based on the UK Post Office scandal, and it had a huge social and political impact”

Some drama series have impressed. Back in May the second series of Blue Lights (BBC One), a police show set in Northern Ireland, wasn’t quite as good as the first, but that had set a high bar. I’m looking forward to the third series. Both major and minor characters are well-drawn and appealing – you care what happens to them. That’s not always the case, especially with the home-grown drama. I also hope there will be another series of The Turkish Detective (BBC One, July), a most enjoyable crime series set in Istanbul. Showtrial (BBC One) was a riveting drama series about a possible miscarriage of justice but had so many twists and turns, ambiguities and multi-layered characters. Mr Bates v. the Post Office (UTV/ITV and Virgin Media One) was a fine drama series based on the UK Post Office scandal, and it had a huge social and political impact. It was dramatic evidence of the power of story, as this injustice had been explored and exposed previously in podcasts and articles without anything like the same impact.

Young Sheldon (RTE One) has often had a jaundiced attitude to religion, but the last three episodes, which brought the drama to an end in August, were outstanding, with brilliant acting and an emotional impact you’d rarely find in a comedy series. Douglas is Cancelled (ITV, May; RTÉ, November) was a sharp and witty satire of the media world, with nicely ambiguous attitudes to wokeness. At heart it was deadly serious, with a highly emotional last episode, but was at times too crude and profane for its own good.

I enjoyed what I saw of Ag Triall ar an Tobar (TG 4), a documentary series on the holy wells of Ireland, presented by Manchán Magan”

On the Documentary front early in the year there was The Last Priests in Ireland and The Last Nuns in Ireland (RTÉ One). I had a few issues with these, but they were thought-provoking and generally respectful to religious faith. The latter show was the better, I thought, but what was most enjoyable was listening to the variety of priests and nuns recounting their experiences. Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales (BBC Two) was the latest addition to this series where a motley crew of celebrity believers and non-believers travel on traditional pilgrimage routes. It can vary from irritating to deeply moving. I enjoyed what I saw of Ag Triall ar an Tobar (TG 4), a documentary series on the holy wells of Ireland, presented by Manchán Magan. TG4 continues to be home to well-made documentaries, while the TG4 Player offers a fine service but many people I know have never heard of it! Better Off Dead? (BBC One, May) was a strong authored piece against assisted suicide by disability right campaigner Liz Carr. It didn’t help achieve a majority against the idea in the recent House of commons debate, but at least the opposition was considerable, measured and very articulate. There is some hope on the issue for the new year as the bill faces several hurdles in Parliament.

A lot of media debate during the first half of the year was taken up with the family-related referenda at home, and so the nation agonised over ‘durable relationships’ and ‘unforeseen consequences’.  The great and good were in favour of change, but enough diverse and dissenting voices surfaced to defeat the proposals and there was a palpable shock among media folks when the ‘No’ result became clear in the results coverage.

It was also the ‘Year of Elections’ worldwide and again the political anoraks had a field day – so much coverage on the current affairs shows and we have so many of these shows across so many channels and platforms. One of my favourites is the daily Press Preview (Sky News), which acts as a review of the current day and a heads-up for the next day’s stories. Two journalists, often one liberal and one conservative, tease out the stories in a good-humoured way – they get on with each other in a way that could teach the rest of the body politic a lesson.

Media bias in current affairs is still a problem. One of the worst examples was an RTÉ Investigates programme back in April on the state of our abortion laws. It should come as no surprise that the extreme bias favoured the pro-choice or pro-abortion side. Bias is often shown in interview style and tone. It strikes me that the people who get the most hostility on Irish programmes are pro-lifers, Northern Unionists, Trump supporters, Brexiteer Tories and Israelis. There were quite a few RTÉ documentaries hitting out at past abuses perpetrated by the Catholic Church, such as Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, and Leathered: Violence in Irish Schools. The abuses were disgraceful, but at times it seems relentless and over the top, while more modern abuses that we could do something about get neglected. That’s more than a bit worrying.

Coverage of the awful goings on in Ukraine and the Middle East varied in intensity, but unfortunately was never absent, though I sense a few faint glimmers of hope for the new year”

As regards the US Presidential election the anti-Trump bias was so evident over here, though when Biden blotted his copybook, he got plenty of negative coverage as well. As I wrote at the time the election of Trump made me feel both scared and curious and it certainly acted as slap in the face for the liberal establishment. Coverage of the awful goings on in Ukraine and the Middle East varied in intensity, but unfortunately was never absent, though I sense a few faint glimmers of hope for the new year. Recent events in Syria might seem hopeful, and the celebrations of Syrians abroad that featured heavily in the news programmes in mid-December were quite moving – I was struck for example by a CNN report showing the release from a secret prison of a bewildered and grateful man who was left alone for days without food, water or light. I just hope that their hope will be justified.

We do need to be concerned with the rise of the far-right. The Dublin riots in particular were cause for huge concern. But I feel the media has been over-obsessing about this, too quick with the labelling, and giving the far-left a free pass. I hope the coming year will see more nuance and balance in the coverage, especially after their candidates didn’t make much of an impact in our recent general election. There’s also an obsession in the media about ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation’. Yes, it’s a problem, what with extremist agitators and bots originating in rogue states, but we’d want to be alert to dodgy ‘information’ or lack of pertinent information from Government and the media as well.

Finally, on a more trivial note, I really miss the weekend editions of It Says in the Papers (RTE Radio 1) especially on Sunday mornings. They disappeared without fanfare sometime mid-year. Write to RTE and demand it back now! Include a Happy New Year note.