Data gathering.
*dry swallow*
Intelligence Analyst in the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC)
Meanwhile…
The mobile phone records of two journalists have been accessed without their knowledge or consent as part of a criminal inquiry into a third party.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) scrutinised the phone records of the Dublin-based journalists after a friend of deceased model Katy French lodged complaints about gardaí allegedly leaking information.
The commission was granted Garda-style powers last year to access phone records if required during the investigation of serious offences.The inquiry into the complaints represents the first time the commission’s use of the new power has emerged publicly. Accessing journalists’ phone records has always been contentious and has traditionally only occurred in exceptional circumstances.
GSOC trawls journalists’ phone records in inquiry (Conor Lally, Irish Times)
Haughey style
What’s the problem with this? The gardai have the same type of analysts. One was used in the Graham Dwyer trial. Or is there something sinister about that as well?
I don’t think many journalists are sociopathic murderers to be fair
but if a crime or wrong doing is being committed, then it should be investigated. gardai should not be passing on information to journalists. if they are, it needs to be investigated. and this is how gsoc are doing it.
You don’t?
and you’d NEVER hear of journalists tapping phones, now would you?
Freedom of the press?
GSOC are looking for a garda who has leaked information. the quickest way to do that is to check the phone records of the journalist who has chosen to receive the information. if they don’t like it, they shouldn’t use garda sources.
That logic escapes the tinfoil hat brigade.
perfect logic for fascists, though
You’d be giving out yards if GSOC didn’t exist to investigate crimes withing AGS.
Journalists will just have to become a bit smarter/trchnogically literate in how they communicate with sources
Whereas I just need to become literate
You should need a warrant to go thru phone records.
What’s to stop Guards/GSOC accessing these records with any loose justification?
They are an investigative agency so how is any of this in any way sinister?
The general treatment of whistleblowers.
If Maurice mc Cabe and John Wilson had not the support of journalists and exposing corruption they would have been hung out to dry. Cover ups in murders of Fr Molloy, Patrick Nugent, Shane Tuohy, shane o Farrell, Limericks Disappeared , Jim Goonan, Shane Rossiter to name but a few are only in the public eye because of decent hard working journalists. If this is ‘root and branch’ change promised we should despair.
There’s a big difference between going to a journalist to expose corruption within the organisation and passing on information relating to cases just to make a few bob, or sell newspapers.
The case in question relates to the death of a model from a drug overdose. It happens every day, but was a popular news story because she was somewhat well known. It is not in the public interest to disclose these details to the media. If a family member of mine died or was the victim of a crime, I’d be livid if a Garda divulged private information to the media for publication. I’d want it investigated properly and not ignored just because of “media privilege”.
How about we keep media privilege for actual public interest cases and not perving over a dead model?
+1
Writing about the death of Katy French must fall under one of the looser definitions of ‘journalist’.
True but it is very difficult (impossible?) to clamp down on more seedy/worthless hacks without hurting/hindering more ‘valid’ journalists.
On a positive note, at least it’s not a Job Bridge! :D
GUBU
A lot of people getting fooled by this anti GSOC narrative.
This is a campaign against the GSOC and an attempt to undermine their effectiveness. It’s being driven by establishment interests.
Read between the lines folks.