“Time will get us all, but it’s cornered me earlier than I hoped. Every professional sportsperson always hopes to be able to leave their chosen sport on their terms but too often that’s not the case.

“I have had to take on board the medical advice that I have been given and after talking to Sheena and my family, I have taken the difficult decision to retire with immediate effect from playing rugby in order to ensure my future well being.

“I’m very proud to finish my career as a one club man having played amongst some of the best in the game, who are all like a family of brothers to me.

“My goal when I started my professional career 14 years ago was to leave the jerseys that I wore in a better place and I hope I have done that.

“Thank you to the IRFU, Leinster Rugby, all the coaches, medical staff, back room staff, sponsors, media, supporters and most importantly my wife, family, friends and fellow players for helping me to make my dreams come true.

“I’ve had the time of my life on and off the rugby pitch but now it’s time for the next chapter.”

A statement released by Jamie Heaslip this morning

Pic: Irish Rugby

Yesterday.

In the Sunday Business Post.

Colette Sexton reported:

Independent News and Media (INM) is considering the introduction of a paywall on its news sites.

The newspaper company, which publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and the Sunday World, as well as a range of local newspapers, has given its content away for free on its websites up to this point.

…A new corporate strategy for INM completed by EY recommended that the newspaper group charge for some of its online content.

The EY project, entitled The One Programme, saw key executives and editors in the company interviewed. It was critical of current innovation and digital strategy within the group.

INM looks at introducing paywall (Colette Sexton, Sunday Business Post)

Previously: The Daily News

Pic: INM

From top: Claire Byrne arriving at the Four Courts on Friday; Nicky Kehoe leaving the courts on Friday.

This afternoon.

RTÉ reports:

A former Sinn Féin councillor and IRA gunman has been awarded €3,500 in his High Court case for damages against RTÉ for defamation.

Nicky Kehoe, who is now a political manager for Sinn Féin, had sued over comments made about him during a live radio debate in October 2015.

The jury found the contents of the broadcast meant that Mr Kehoe was not a fit person to be involved in the democratic process.

However, it found the broadcaster was only 35% responsible for the defamation and Joe Costello was responsible for 65%.

RTÉ lawyers say they plan to appeal the case and said it is possibly the lowest award of damages ever made in a defamation case.

Kehoe awarded €3,500 in defamation case against RTÉ (Vivienne Traynor, RTE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjs6fnpPWy4

imagery from NASA’s Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit on board the International Space Station compiled into a cocktail party-friendly 4k edit by Séan Doran, who sez of it:

The length of the film is exactly the length of time it takes ISS to orbit the Earth once, 92 minutes & 39 seconds.

likecool


From top: Project 2040 advertorial in Saturday’s Irish Times and Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke.

Further to a Dail discussion about Government-sponsored advertorials – via the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Strategic Communications Unit – in relation to the National Development Plan being published in the Irish Independent and Irish Times…

And today’s front page story in the Times Ireland edition by Ellen Coyne about similar advertorials made to look like independent news articles in regional newspapers and similar coverage of Creative Ireland last summer…

And an article in yesterday’s The Sunday Times – by Justine McCarthy – in which it was reported that financial advisor Karl Deeter and economist Constantin Gurdgiev were never told they were being interviewed for State-paid advertorials when they gave comments to The Herald for articles about the National Development Plan…

Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy was asked by Mr O’Rourke about the Social Democrats’ decision to make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority over paid coverage of the Government plan for Project 2040.

Mr O’Rourke also mentioned the front page story in today’s Times Ireland edition by Ellen Coyne (more below)

Ms Murphy said:

“Yes, because essentially there’s advertisements that are, there’s really propaganda. There’s a difference between journalism and propaganda and propaganda is something you pay for. The whole area of journalism is incredibly important and the fourth estate in relation to an aspect of our system that holds people to account.

“…If somebody is reading one of those papers, I mean there’s a great deal of trust in terms of regional newspapers, you know, in terms of they’re bought very often, and people feel they’re very reliable. You start interfering with you, start paying for advertisement – this is the Strategic Communications Unit…

“There’s an ethical issue here and there’s an issue for the Advertising Standards Authority. If this is an advertisement, it should be marked as an advertisement. If this is genuine journalism, it shouldn’t, there shouldn’t be an issue.”

Meanwhile…

In today’s Times Ireland edition…

Ellen Coyne reports:

Regional newspapers were instructed to make government advertorials look like independent stories and in some cases part of “the normal news cycle,” The Times can reveal.

Editors at several local titles raised concerns after they were instructed not to clearly mark as a commercial feature sponsored content about Ireland 2040, the national development plan.

A similar campaign for Creative Ireland, the government’s cultural programme, also banned newspapers from marking its adverts and said that newspapers would have covered the content anyway, The Times has learnt.

…The 15-person strategic communications unit (SCU) was set up by Mr Varadkar when he succeeded Enda Kenny as taoiseach. It is led by John Concannon, former head of Creative Ireland.

…One local editor told The Times: “This is fake news. Newspapers are struggling and the government know that, so they’ve got us by the balls.”

Make 2040 ads look like real news, papers told (Ellen Coyne, The Times Ireland edition)

UPDATE:

Following on from Ms Murphy’s comments about the Strategic Communications Unit and the advertorials, Fine Gael TD Noel Rock (above) spoke to Sean O’Rourke about the same.

Noel Rock: “They’re clearly identified, from the readers’ perspective. I mean, I’ve yet to see a single example of one that hasn’t been clearly identified. All I’ve seen so far are the ones in the [Irish] Independent, in The Herald, on the Journal, which said at the top and the tail ‘sponsored content’.”

Sean O’Rourke: “Maybe if we had a copy of one of those 15 regional print and online news titles, you’d get a different impression.”

Rock: Perhaps but they have yet to be produced. All I’ve seen is a trumped-up charge and a press release.”

O’Rourke: “Oh, hold on now. Trumped-up charge. That’s a pretty loaded statement. I mean you’re suggesting that there’s fake news on the front of the Times Ireland edition today?”

Rock: “What I’m saying is there’s a complaint been made to the ASA about legal, decent, honest and truthful standards in advertising. And I’ve yet to see any proof whatsoever in that regard. What I do see…”

O’Rrourke: “Proof is one thing, evidence is another. I suppose it’s for the [Advertising] Standards Authority to decide which is which. We’ll leave it there for now…”

Listen back in full here

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