Posts Tagged ‘ Rant ’

RTÉ: The Unsaid

On Sunday last (21/10/10) the Irish government announced the IMF / ECB bailout plans. This was already the word on the street for the previous week and the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen had, on more than one occasion, vehemently denied any plans for an IMF bailout. Yet again, more lies. The IMF brigade were apparently just here on a friendly visit over the previous days and were shacked up in the swanky Merrion Hotel, conveniently located a spitting distance from the back door of government buildings. But the charade couldn’t be kept up for too long.

I was watching the news develop online via Twitter when it was announced a press conference would take place after 8pm with some news from the government. It’s unusual of course for our politicians to work on a Sunday, so this it would seem was the admission of what the IMF were really here for (as if we didn’t know).

I switched on the television and flicked around to see what was being said. BBC and Sky News were covering the story for an hour previous and people wondered on Twitter if RTÉ was going to announce that they would be covering it.

RTÉ broadcast the government’s press conference at 8.30pm after Fair City. The News Flash cut the live broadcast at 8.50pm before it was over when the journalist Vincent Browne dealt some tough questions to An Taoiseach and went back to the studio for some “analysis”. I had to switch to the BBC to catch the remainder of the conference.

License fee; €160
Remit; public service broadcasting

I, like many, complained. What I got from RTÉ was a stock response.. My email correspondence with them is attached below in full (pdf format)

complaint to RTÉ – November 2010

…. I’m still waiting for a reply but won’t be holding my breath.

On Monday night I made a little remix garnered from some of the material I harvested over the previous 48 hours.
Et voila…

Mercy buckets RTÉ

ps: as you won’t find an archive of this conference on the RTÉ website, I’ve linked it below from some puclic service minded Youtuber

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHcw5xYSaAE

2010
11/25
CATEGORY
Featured
Politics
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Distractions and holding back.

Now this is just the tip of the iceberg.. the underlying theme herein will be expanded upon over future posts and so this is an introduction of sorts. I think a lot about the direction we are going in with social media et al, or whatever it will be called in the future. The wheel is turning faster and faster and everyday we are seeing more and more innovations to make our virtual lives and communications easier. But there is the rub. Just because it is easier (more convenient) doesn’t necessarily mean it is any more useful, it may just make room for more distraction. Much of what we invest in is worth nothing when something better comes along.

If we are in a global recession, then why and how can we afford to keep buying virtually nothing? We are upgrading and obsoleting technology quicker than ever and piling up rubbish that was once worth substantial amounts (of course it still is to those in the lucrative recycling industries) so we can move on to the latest trend and give ourselves a false sense of belonging. The question is though, do we own our purchases or do they own us?

The Law of Distraction may sound familiar to those of you who have explored the realms of self-improvement on the information-super-highway. I’m putting this out there as a mirror on that and on our internet use (also, wider media consumption) in general. How much of what we consume is useful? How much of it is useful enough to improve our livelihood and advance our career path?  How much of it is distraction? Of course we individually know the answers to these type of questions. We are living the same experience, that of the information age, but we are not all on the same page and that is largely the point. Whether you are an early adopter or a noob, the net has become a part of daily life for a large amount of people and within that there is a sense of pressure that you need to be part of the latest trend or get left behind. But what do we leave behind?
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2010
09/15
CATEGORY
Free Culture
General
Social
Technology
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Fare game for public transport?

Well I just noticed scrolling past the ticker on the TV3 news just now that the fares are set to got up on the Luas and then followed by all other public transport. Is this some kind of a joke? Only days after Noel Dempsey does his about turn and encourages people to use the car less they put up the fares! He was talking after the announcement that 29 million passengers used the Luas in 2007, a rise of 3 million since the previous year.

And this is what he said.. Read more

2008
01/07
CATEGORY
Environmental
Politics
Social
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