At the risk of making a gross generalisation, I think you'll find that the 'real' newspapers and the 'real' TV new programs had only a little coverage of the issue. At least the Irish ones that I came across did.
The newspapers and TV channels that focus on enter-news-ment were full of it, but then again that's not exactly new. They have a lot of airtime and newspread to fill you know.
Regarding the question - "Are the media not supposed to reflect the mood of the nation?" - I think you'll find that the role of the media has never been less well defined than it is now. Regardless of what goes on in other countries (where certain news channels are very aggressively for or against certain political parties or presidential candidates) many of Irelands media sources have biases one way or the other. In fairness, this is to be expected and is not really a surprise, but it does indicate that the media aren't supposed to reflect the mood of the nation. It might be nice to think this is the case, but in reality newspapers by and large reflect the mood of the journalists and editors rather than the mood of the nation.
In terms of the Ross/Brand thing - it doesn't matter who they are or who Andrew Sachs is, if this was a pair of teenagers who said this to some granny in the street you can be sure that their mother would clip them round the ear and stop their pocket money. These guys did it on the radio. The editor approved it for broadcast. They deserve some sanction. Auntie has done what their mother would have done if they were kids.
z
The newspapers and TV channels that focus on enter-news-ment were full of it, but then again that's not exactly new. They have a lot of airtime and newspread to fill you know.
Regarding the question - "Are the media not supposed to reflect the mood of the nation?" - I think you'll find that the role of the media has never been less well defined than it is now. Regardless of what goes on in other countries (where certain news channels are very aggressively for or against certain political parties or presidential candidates) many of Irelands media sources have biases one way or the other. In fairness, this is to be expected and is not really a surprise, but it does indicate that the media aren't supposed to reflect the mood of the nation. It might be nice to think this is the case, but in reality newspapers by and large reflect the mood of the journalists and editors rather than the mood of the nation.
In terms of the Ross/Brand thing - it doesn't matter who they are or who Andrew Sachs is, if this was a pair of teenagers who said this to some granny in the street you can be sure that their mother would clip them round the ear and stop their pocket money. These guys did it on the radio. The editor approved it for broadcast. They deserve some sanction. Auntie has done what their mother would have done if they were kids.
z