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THE CEO OF Denis O’Brien-owned Communicorp has written to staff to inform them that Irish Times journalists will not be appearing on any of the group’s stations.
The move was taken following fallout from comments made by George Hook on Newstalk and subsequent criticism of those comments, some of which were contained in the Irish Times.
In a column last month, Irish Times journalist Fintan O’Toole pledged that he would not be appearing on Newstalk in future, claiming it had become “the most flagrantly sexist public organisation in Ireland”.
O’Toole went on to state that private citizens should not be complicit in “an operation that is staggeringly and systemically sexist”.
Newstalk’s managing editor Patricia Monahan wrote a right to reply in the Irish Times defending the station and calling O’Toole’s article “an outrageously unfair attack”.
However, in an email to Communicorp staff seen by TheJournal.ie, Communicorp’s CEO Adrian Serle said that Newstalk also sought an apology from The Irish Times but that the paper refused to do this.
Serle’s email tells staff that as a result of the refusal to apologise, a decision was taken to exclude Irish Times journalists and other staff from any Communicorp stations or shows.
As well as Newstalk, Communicorp also owns stations such as Today FM, Dublin’s 98FM and Spin 1038.
George Hook was suspended from Newstalk last month after he drew widespread condemnation for comments he made about rape during a broadcast of the High Noon programme.
The presenter ended a monologue on the issue of rape with the question “is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?”.
Following an internal investigation, it was announced that Hook had stepped down from High Noon but would return to Newstalk on a weekend show.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, Newstalk confirmed that Irish Times journalists would not be appearing on Communicorp stations “until further notice”.
The statement described O’Toole’s article as “a deliberate and damaging attack on both the station and its staff”.
The Irish Times
The Irish Times’ editor Paul O’Neill said in response to Newstalk’s decision that there were “no grounds” for the apology and added that the station had also sought a retraction of the article.
O’Neill said that the paper has been informed of the decision taken by the broadcaster.
“This follows a demand by Communicorp that The Irish Times issue an apology for an opinion column by Fintan O’Toole on 12 September relating to the controversy over George Hook and Newstalk,” the editor said.
There are no grounds for such an apology or for the retraction of the column which was sought also. Fintan was entitled to express his opinion and The Irish Times was entitled to publish it.
O’Neill also made reference to the right to reply written by Newstalk’s managing editor.
“This fully reflected the views of Newstalk staff and was published on the basis that it would conclude the matter. Communicorp has chosen to raise it again almost three weeks later,” he said.
“It is a matter for Communicorp to decide who participates in its programmes. Equally, The Irish Times reserves the right to publish a wide range of opinion without fear or favour. We will continue to do so.”
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More die from cold than heat as the numbers show and as fuel and energy prices increase more will suffer hypothermia.
Enviromaniacs love killing old people and africans in the name of carbonology .So now that warming is cooling and weather is only weather ,when a priest of carbonology says so, I look forward to the heatwave from the carbonite’s computers ,trying to explain why its snowing in September
They died from shock obviously.
We have seen the sun for the first time in six months and you have people running for cover……….
5 Cold days in a row = article on climate change
5 Sunny days in a row = article on climate change
Floods somewhere = article on climate change
If you add up all those articles, the sum total of the conlusions is that 50 years from now our calendar year will stumble from flood, to heatwave, to big freeze, to hurricane force winds. Utter chaos.
Oh, and there’ll also be an increase in average temperature of 0.5c.
We’re doomed! Doomed I tells ya!
What about the vitamin D, you get that from sunshine
Clearly you do not understand the concept of climate change.
ahhh come on 22 degrees is NOT a heat wave
According to this study, a heatwave is temperatures of over 25 degrees Celsius for two days or more.
Lets be honest people, there is taxpayers hardearned money to be made, from this nonsense, first it was global warmng, then it was a mini ice age, so now its the coverall “climate change” well hopefully it wont change for a couple of weeks!!!
Irish heatwaves – normal summer weather! Bring it on so! More of this please, even a little warmer would be nice!
Strong post in relation to the subject discussed.
Awh come on guys this is the first bit of good weather we have had this year and u go and post an article like this, can we not just enjoy the weather and not complain for once.
So sorry for posting this article Ali and ruining your day in the sun!
Unfortunately this is a reality for many people and loved ones were lost. The research is warning people in the future that they need to be more careful in the sun. This article is not a complaint, it’s a reality.
Ah Amy yesterday you were telling me I should get out and enjoy the sunshine. I’m confused now
They didnt even say how the people died, how old they were, and how to prevent it. Pointless article.
Who funds these pointless studies?
People do actually die from cold but I bet the heat releated ones are drownings and heart attacks brought on by folks suddenly taking up exercise such as blowing on BBQ’s trying to light them .
Quangos
This is such nonsense ! Get real ! I am certain there are more deaths relating to the miserable weather all year round ! The damp, the chill, the freeze, the cold!!! Go to Rome or NYC in the summer ! Now that’s a heat wave! Or come to Dubai, where I live. Nobody dying from the all year round heat here … Stop moaning and enjoy the modest heat while you can
I would prefer to die in a heatwave than be frozen to death anyday.
Seriously.
“She died a tragic death, sitting on the beach, sipping on a great big glass of sangria with an umbrella in, her toes dangling into the water with the sunshine twinkling off the waves”
What a way to go.
I had to check this wasn’t an article from the Potato when I first read the title!
I find it hard to believe that people die from what the Irish laughable call a heat wave, try an Australian summer 10 plus days of over 35c and temps up to 47c, now that’s a real heat wave.
Yep its certainly way hotter here in Australia. 22 degrees for Ireland is bliss compared to what we get here. Give me Ireland weather any day.
I think the main cause of death is by way of Cardiac Arrest/shock brought on by having two days in a row of Sunshine….!
Either that or severe anxiety caused by being cooped up in offices on what you’re convinced is the only sunny day of the year. And don’t tell me anyone’s gotten over being COMPLETELY CONVINCED that the rain is going to start at about 5.30pm on Friday..
I find the complete opposite, actually- since I started working weekends I find they all seem to be warm and sunny, and the rain only starts on Tuesday (or whatever day I’m off!) People who work mon-fri always say they wish it would be sunny at the weekend, but they forget about all those of us who are working!…
PS Can you believe every weekend when I was mon-fri was usually horrible; now that I’m working them they’re usually all lovely!!
Living in Ireland we are all climatised to rain, overcast skies withe the occasional few sunny days. We get a week or two (if we are lucky!) of intense heat which to some can be very uncomfortable. Especially people with heart conditions, maybe they need the information on how to protect themselves ie; drinking plenty of water, staying in the shade etc. I live on the coast and like everyone else I ran down the road to the beach only to suffer the last few days with heatstroke and it is not pleasant! I should have been more careful and maybe if I had read an article like this I would have stopped and thought about it before I went out in the heat.
Sunscreen only protects from the sun.
Obviously nothing protects you from being a bit thick…
One sentence…” No such thing as Bad weather. .just wrong Clothes ”
Heatwave my a***e….I’ve been around a while n remember the warmer summer’s in 70s n 80s. ..n colder winter’s also…never remember an epidemic of deaths…
I mean…-10° to 25° is not exactly extreme weather…
God forbid we were subjected to the odd Twister…or tsunami. ..
Amy….go out and get some sun on ya chops :-)
sensationalist shite at its best.
Many times that had died due to the truly awful weather that much of the country has had for the last 3 years. Suicide and lack of sunlight, constant overcast sky and rain all go hand in hand.
Non sense ,for example it’s 41 degrees in doha today , a regular occurrence , seriously two days of 25 degrees is pretty unlikely to be killing people , these kind of studies are topical but very questionable , common sense means that people may have some underlying health issues and then point to the weather as the cause but I seriously doubt people in Ireland are dying in our “heat waves”
Aha! Maybe its the Irish definition of dying.
“I’m dying for a pint, this weather is quare hot”
hahah i like that im dying for a pint….thats more likely , i really think the epa and DIT could be doing more useful stuff than this , he report is full of maybes , if , mights and could haves , like in fine weather more people in rural areas are out working on farms and ‘may’ have accidents leading to death…pretty bloody flawed ‘study’ in my opinion , and who decided that two consecutive days of 25 degrees qualifies as a ‘heatwave’….more horse shite…then the majority are people over 74 , people with heart conditions …..im sorry but this is just useless academic crap ,should expect our Dublin Institiute of Technology and EPA to do more useful stuff than this nonsense
Bring it on thank you
Death from heatwaves- yeah, cos we’ve had SO many of those over the last six years, haven’t we!
More like death from depression over the terrible weather!!
Micheal Martin mocking the Chinese accent.
silliness and nothingness. Go for a proper cycle and think of something that someone might be interested in, don’t waste all mammy and daddy’s money.
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