Tag Archives: INM

sheahan:burkeFionnan Sheahan (left) and Cormac Bourke,

Independent.ie reports

Fionnan Sheahan, INM’s Group Political Editor, has been appointed as Editor of the Irish Independent. Cormac Bourke, Executive Editor at the Irish Independent, has been appointed as Editor of the Sunday Independent. Both editors will report to INM Editor-in-chief Stephen Rae and their appointments will begin with immediate effect.

This changes everything.

EVERYTHING.

INM appoints two new editors to Irish Independent and Sunday Independent (Independent.ie)

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Jubilation in the INM newsroom this morning.

Via INM

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Last year’s National Newspapers of Ireland award winners

The Phoenix magazine is reporting that the National Newspapers of Ireland Awards will not be taking place this year because Independent News and Media has pulled out due to “costs”.

INM has five national titles out of 16 NNI members and owns most of the 25 provincial member titles.

The magazine reports:

“The run-up to the awards judgements [last year] involved several fraught sessions of the judges panel …”[Judges panel chairman Michael] Brophy suggested that voting for journalist of the year – the three contenders were [Kitty] Holland, [Paul] Williams (the Anglo Tapes story) and David Walsh (the Lance Armstrong exposé) – be by secret ballot to avoid leaks as in previous years and that the winner be known only to the panel’s secretary until the night of the awards. Despite being agreed by the judges in advance, the night of the vote witnesses…[INM executive on the panel Ian] Mallon then called for a vote on the vote issue which produced a tiny minority for his proposal and so the vote proceeded in secret with the result being that the Williams scoop not only failed to clinch it but was beaten into third place.”

Yikes.

UPDATE: Not so, according to informed sources  (taps nose), the show may go on. More to follow.

(NNI)

90340717Former Irish Independent journalist Gemma O’Doherty at her Employment Appeals Tribunal in May.

You may recall how Gemma O’Doherty appeared before the Employment Appeals Tribunal on May 9 last when she took an unfair dismissal case against Independent News and Media.

The case was adjourned pending written submissions and on a decision on whether it should be postponed until after the conclusion of a defamation case – that Ms O’Doherty is taking against group editor-in-chief Stephen Rae and the Irish Independent.

Further to this, The Phoenix magazine, on shelves now, reports:

“There is now serious concern at INM and especially the Indo at what evidence O’Doherty is likely to bring forward at the EAT [Employment Appeals Tribunal] and the High Court whenever hearings take place. Group managing editor, [Stephen] Rae, has told the board that the situation is under control but that does not explain why O’Doherty has resisted efforts, including substantial compensation and a generous contract, to drop her case.”

“It is not just penalty points being wiped out for the ex-commissioner and the Indo editor that O’Doherty will be focusing on in her evidence. It is the deep, complex relationship between the Gardaí and INM editorial, especially the Indo, that will come under scrutiny at any High Court or EAT hearings. This will involve not only the Anglo tapes but also the coverage of the various Garda controversies like the GSOC bugging allegations, whistleblowers and so on.”

Gulp.

Previously: Going To Work

Are You A Journalist?

Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

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The early edition of the Sunday Independent on July 20, 2014 (top) and Stephen Rae, group editor of INM  (above)

Further to SindoGate…

The order to stop the presses was made by Stephen Rae, the group editor of INM’s titles, after he was informed by a senior journalist about the contents of the column written by Anne Harris, the newspaper’s editor.
The decision to change Harris’s copy against her wishes led to a heated discussion in the newsroom shortly after 7pm last Saturday, according to sources in the newspaper. Explaining why the presses had been stopped, Campbell Spray, the newspaper’s executive editor of operations, told colleagues Rae was his “ultimate boss”.

Mark Tighe, Sunday Times (behind paywall),

Irish newspaper editor’s column was changed after going to press (Roy Greenslade, Guardian)

Previously: Uncompromising

Denis O’Brien’s Editorial Interference: The Smoking Gun?

Meanwhile…

Bewildered Student writes:

“Where the hell is the NUJ [National Union of Journalists]?”

Anyone?

(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

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Catherine Murphy, former travel writer at the Irish Independent, who is taking an unfair dismissal case against the newspaper. Her tribunal started yesterday but no representative for the newspaper showed up.

The Irish Times reported:

“The company [Independent News and Media] sent no one to act for it against its former travel and weekend magazine writer Catherine Murphy, who claimed she was an employee of the paper from August 31st, 2011 to December 31st, 2012, and was unfairly dismissed.”

“Chairwoman of the tribunal Veronica Gates said she was satisfied that Independent News & Media had been notified of the hearing and was aware it was taking place.”

“For whatever reason, they haven’t appeared,” she said. Based on the information provided by Ms Murphy it appeared “there is a case to be answered”, Ms Gates said, and the case could go ahead without the newspaper.”

Former Irish Independent journalist Gemma O’Doherty is also taking an unfair dismissal case against INM, while another former Irish Independent journalist Eimear Ní Bhraonáin is pursuing a constructive dismissal case against the company.

Travel writer takes unfair dismissal case against INM (Irish Times)

Previously: ‘Friendly Towards Hogan’

Going To Work

Pic: Irish Travel Trade News

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Former Irish Independent journalist Eimear Ni Bhraonain

You’ll recall a post from last week in relation to former Irish Independent journalist Eimear Ni Bhraonain detailing how she is taking a constructive dismissal case against her employers after the paper failed to publish a story about Environment Minister Phil Hogan for ten days, until it  learned the Irish Daily Mail was about to publish it.

The story was about how the Kilkenny/Carlow TD had written to some of his constituents in Kilkenny, to tell them a Traveller family – Patrick and Brigid Carthy and their seven children – would not be moved to a house near them.

Last week’s post also told how Phoenix magazine reported that Ms Ni Bhraonain was asked to investigate a dossier of alleged minor crimes pertaining to Mr Carty, after the Irish Independent received the dossier “from somewhere in the Kilkenny area”.

Further to this, Mark Tighe, in yesterday’s Sunday Times [not online behind paywall], reported how Ms Ni Bhraonain will claim there was political interference with her story.

In relation to the dossier, Mr Tighe reported:

Ní Bhraonáin claims she was then presented with what appeared to be an official print-out of the travellers’ criminal convictions and asked by editors to write a story about them.

Ní Bhraonáin will claim that when she asked Independent desk staff about the paper’s attitude, it was implied that the newspaper was ‘friendly’ towards Hogan.

Mr Tighe also reported that INM’s group editor Stephen Rae will deny there was political interference when Ms Ni Bhraonain’s case comes before a Rights Commissioner on June 10 and that INM will seek to have her claim thrown out on the grounds  she failed to file it within six months of when she left the company.

Previously: Turning The Story On Its Head

Big Phil’s Fat Gypsy Prejudice

Had Your Phil Yet?

Pic: Pat Moore

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Former Irish Independent journalist Eimear Ni Bhraonain, top, and the front page of the Irish Daily Mail on September 26, 2012

You may recall an Irish Daily Mail front page story about how Environment Minister Phil Hogan had written to some of his constituents in Kilkenny, telling them a Traveller family – Patrick and Brigid Carthy and their seven children – would not be moved to a house near them.

Phoenix magazine is this week reporting that former Irish Independent journalist Eimear Ni Bhraonain had the story for 10 days before the rival paper.

But her editors held off from printing it and only did so when the Irish Daily Mail was on the verge of publishing it.

The magazine adds:

“The Indo then received a dossier – from somewhere in the Kilkenny area – on the alleged crimes of Carthy (of a minor nature) and Ni Bhraonain was asked to pursue this angle with  vigour. She declined, having already determined from Gardai and social workers that the Carthys were not a problem family and because the newspaper, she believed, were trying to turn the real story on its head.“

Ms Ni Bhraonain is now taking a case of constructive dismissal at the Employment Appeals Tribunal against INM.

Previously: Big Phil’s Fat Gypsy Prejudice

Had Your Phil Yet?