Media

This is what passes for a newspaper: the Sunday Independent of 22 January 2006

Political opinion polls in newspapers are little more than junk-food journalism. They may fill acres of newsprint and provide a warm feeling for an editor who gets to fill space conveniently, but they are almost worthless journalistically, devoid of any worthwhile intellectual nutrition.

The Irish Times' new columnist is a leading neocon, a Washington insider who supports torture conditionally and thinks the invasion of Iraq was a risk worth taking. By Colin Murphy

On a visit to the US an Irish American activist gave me a small notice which once upon a time could be found in boarding...

Fianna Fáil town councillor Malcolm Byrne from Gorey in County Wexford has been a prolific contributor to the letters to the editor's page of The Irish Times in recent years. As recently as 9 January he wrote of "a very vibrant and healthily cynical media in Ireland which have no problem in exposing political failings and an intelligent electorate which can easily make its judgements on those failings – as well, of course, as on successes."

RTE and Amnesty's cosy deal.

Nearly a year after her death her body still has not been found. Nor has her death received the attention that Robert McCartney's did, despite the alleged involvement of paramilitaries. Colm Heatley reports

Two years ago, she was my assistant. Her English was excellent; but nothing compared to her intuitive grasp of teaching. Soon Wang became indispensable. She could tell me exactly where I had lost my students. She could spell out what was needed to leap the abyss between East and West.

When Paul Bremer, the former US head in Iraq announced recently that he was about to publish his memoir of the disastrou...

 Ian Paisley's categorical statement on Monday 16 January that there will no power sharing administration est...