Tag Archives: SCU

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and from today’s Irish Times

Further to this week’s publication of the review of the Strategic Communications Unit by Secretary General of the Department of An Taoiseach Martin Fraser…

And the publication of an accompanying report into the SCU and the Project Ireland 2040 initiative by Assistant Secretary at the department Elizabeth Canavan…

In today’s Irish Times, the newspaper’s political correspondent Harry McGee reports:

There was also a claim in the media that MediaForce Ireland had directed editors to make advertorial copy look like news. The basis for this claim was an earlier campaign by MediaForce Ireland conducted for Creative Ireland, which had no connection to the SCU. The conflation of this separate campaign with Project 2040 led to claims that similar instructions were sent to newspapers. There was no evidence to bear out this claim.”

“Ms Canavan carried out an in-depth review of over 50 newspapers, and interviewed all the main protagonists in the controversy, including newspaper editors. She found no basis for the allegation SCU staff pressurised editors, directly or indirectly, to portray advertorials as news.”

And yet…

From Ms Canavan’s report…

This is the email which was sent from Mediaforce to regional newspapers, as supplied to Ms Canavan by Mediaforce…

From: Shane Treanor

Date: 19 February 2018 at 10:54:42 GMT

Subject: National Dev Plan

Hi all

Apologies for the group mail.

A couple of points on the above that I wanted to reiterate.

In terms of strapline – attached is an idea of how this should look.

It should read National Development Plan in partnership with the Government of
Ireland – you should be able to get the logo from department website.

This will clearly illustrate to readers that this is a Govt initiative.

In terms of the editorial – Dessie is sending this now. The idea is that this will not be a copy and paste job from the document. More that the points in it, in relation to your area, should be enhanced somewhat. It’s a guide to take your readers through what the plan means for them (and so needs some editorial team back up to finesse the message). The pieces and articles should fit with the tone of your papers – that’s what got this over the line. Some of you will notice the same piece may cover 3 or 4 counties … This emphasises more why we need some editorial input to really localise the message for your readers.

Any images that you need – you should have on file be that pictures of a
road/school/sports ground etc.

As mentioned I do (and the client too) appreciate that you will cover what this plan means for your locale independently on your pages this week – but that will fall outsid these 2 pages. The idea is that within these pages – the plan for your area should be laid out clearly and concisely.

Hope that this is all clear for you.

Any questions please give me a call.

I understand that this is an unusual project. However I really need us to do a good job on this as I believe if we do, there should be more to come on this project and indeed other issues, such as Brexit, in the coming weeks and months.

Shane

And this is the email supplied to Ms Canavan by an editor of a regional newspaper…

Apologies for the group mail.

A couple of points on the above that I wanted to reiterate.

In terms of strapline – attached is an idea of how this should look.
It should read ‘Brought to you in partnership with Project Ireland 2040’

This will clearly illustrate to readers that this is a Govt initiative and negate the need to have ADVERTORIAL on the page etc.

In terms of the editorial. The idea is that this will not be a copy and paste job from the document. More that the points in it, in relation to your area, should be enhanced somewhat. It’s a guide to take your readers through what the plan means for them (and so needs some editorial team back up to finesse the message). The pieces and articles should fit with the tone of your papers – that’s what got this over the line. Some of you will notice the same piece may cover 3 or 4 counties … This emphasises more why we need some editorial
input to really localise the message for your readers.

Any images that you need – you should have on file be that pictures of a road/school/sports ground etc.

As mentioned I do (and the client too) appreciate that you will cover what this plan means for your locale independently on your pages this week – but that will fall outside these 2 pages. The idea is that within these pages – the plan for your area should be laid out clearly and concisely.

Hope that this is all clear for you.
Any questions please give me a call.

I understand that this is an unusual project. However I really need us to do a good job on this as I believe if we do, there should be more to come on this project and indeed other issues, such as Brexit, in the coming weeks and months.

Shane

Spot the difference?

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

This morning.

In the Irish Examiner.

In an article about Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Strategic Communications Unit…

Juno McEnroe reports:

Emails released under freedom of information show how the SCU is stretching its reach right into the nerve centre of departments and government decision making, at very senior levels.

The unit, led by marketing guru John Concannon, was even asked to participate in the controversial public services card project with the ID system under fire and receiving “an amount of public attention”.

…Emails between Mr Concannon, the SCU, and senior department officials, reveal fresh concerns, including:

The SCU drafting a parliamentary answer for then tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, instead of her staff, which was about justifying the existence of the unit itself. The same wording was used, after the SCU told a senior department senior official “grateful if you could use this version”;

Mr Concannon and the SCU oversaw plans for a health event launch in Mr Varadkar’s constituency relating to the new children’s paediatric outpatient and care unit at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown;

The Department of Public Expenditure told the unit that the controversial public services card was attracting “an amount of public attention” and sought the unit’s help for a PR campaign.

The SCU repeatedly tried to get ministers and their secretaries general to attend meetings, it trained senior civil servants, and was also asked to help the “anxious” short-staffed rural affairs department.

Leo Varadkar’s spin unit at heart of key decisions (Juno McEnroe, The Irish Examiner)

Previously: Strategic Communications Unit on Broadsheet


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