“Yet, if not existential, the broadcaster’s authority, built on its outstanding journalism, has been sorely damaged in a way that uncannily resembles the RTÉ Mission to Prey fiasco and its own fall from grace. It too wrongly accused a man, Fr Kevin Reynolds, of child abuse without doing the proper checks, it too latched on to a suspect with a preconceived view of his guilt, and its programme and station managers also failed dismally to exercise proper editorial control.”
BBC’s Fall From Grace, Editorial, Irish Times
No proper checks…preconceived view of guilt…no editorial controls…
In a front-page article on Tuesday, October 9th, 2012, entitled “Reilly aide advised home help firm in lucrative HSE deal”, we incorrectly stated that a special adviser to the Minister for Health was employed until last year by Elder Home Care Limited t/a “Comfort Keepers” and that this aide to the Minister had “advised” Elder Home Care Limited t/a “Comfort Keepers” in relation to what we described as a lucrative HSE deal.
We acknowledge that the special adviser in question has never had any connection whatsoever with “Comfort Keepers”.
…We apologise to “Comfort Keepers” and its management for both failing to contact them in advance of publication and for publishing information which was both incorrect and damaging.
Apology: Comfort Keepers (Irish Times, October 23, 2012)
Uncanny.
Thanks adbsd
And presumably your story where you outed a MOP’s employee for editing Wikipedia means you no longer comment on internet privacy etc?
Not to mention the spelling mistakes…
Whoops, fixed now?
What’s the question mark for?
They were actually outed for commenting on Broadsheet.
Good point – I got confused
Double standards there…
The two are incomparable – RTÉ and the BBC are public broadcasters funded by a tax. They should be held to a higher level of responsibility because their very existence depends on public consent, which is of course dependent on the public’s trust in the broadcaster.
The whole thing is about the Irish Times’ supposed hypocrisy when they’ve made a mistake themselves in the past?
Again, what’s the question mark for?
Because that’s how Dubs speak these days? With an upward inflection at the end of every sentence?
Don’t be ridiculous – it’s clearly suggesting a tone of openness for discussion and not a rigid dogmatism that this is a FACT.
Irish Times in double standard shocker. Seriously, it’s as self-important and smug as the Skibbereen Eagle these days.
Anyone ever notice that the IT’s ad for “why” is very similar to the evil Elliot Carvers Speech in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies?
It’s a shit ad. It actually says nothing.