Media

ISRAEL'S WIN OF THE 23rd Eurovision Song Contest at the Palais des Congres on Saturday 22nd April 1978 was the greatest upset for the form books virtually since the launching of the contest in 1956.

THE LEGAL POSITION ON unlicenced broadcasting, according to authorative legal sources, appears to be as follows: while it is a summary offence, it seems likely that the confiscation of apparatus would be held to be unconstitutional and there is no question of advertisers being in breach of the law. In addition, it seems that new legislation will have to be introduced simply to provide the mechanism for the issuing of licences to commercial entitles.

We examine the history of pirate radio in Dublin and RTE's response to their challenge.

PUBLISHING IN IRELAND has been a notoriously precarious enterprise in the last two decades with two newspapers (the Sunday Review and the Evening Mail) going to the wall and being followed there by countless magazines (This Week, Nusight, Scene, Woman's Choice, Spottlight, Profile etc). So it is perhaps surprising that the most spectacular fortunes to be made in Ireland in recent times should have been made by publishers, those of the Sunday World. By VINCENT BROWNE

THE DROPPING of the 'shopping basket' feature from RTE's "Gay Byrne Hour", highlights the diffiiculty of putting almost any kind of consumer informaation over the airwaves, except advertisements. By Dermot Kelly

"AISLING DRURY-BYRNE talks about and plays some of the 'cello pieces set for this year's Intermediate Certificate Examination." (RTE Guide for 3.01 pm 28th January.)

TOM O'DEA LOOKS AT THE CHANGES IN TELEVISION COVERAGE OF CURRENT AFFAIRS SINCE THE NEW GOVERNMENT CAME TO POWER

The CATHOLIC Standard, once the triumphant bulwark of the Irish Catholic Church against the corrupting liberalism of the popular media, is in distress.

In a special opinion poll conducted for Magill a huge majority in the 26 counties expressed themselves in favour of the re-broadcasting of BBC I on a second channel rather than RTE 2. By TOM O'DEA

"The 'Yes, but' style of reporting concedes the right to strike but makes explicit propaganda against the exercising of the right." Gene Kerrigan analyses newspaper coverage of the Ferenka dispute.