Irish Times and First Division

**Straightstory** · 07/04/2008, 11:20 AM

I searched in Saturday's Irish Times Sports Section, and as far as I could see they didn't print either Friday night's First Division results or the First Division table. Meanwhile, two full pages were dedicated to Tom Humphries' latest (typically overblown and pompously written) love-in with Roy Keane. This also featured four very large but rather similar photos of His Majesty. I reckon, using their smallest type, it would have taken about three (possibly two and a half) column inches to print the results and table. I find this incredible, but not surprising, as only The Sunday Tribune has more disdain for football in this country. Can anything be done? Maybe e-mail them and let them know how ridiculous they are.

**dcfcsteve** · 07/04/2008, 11:24 AM

For as long as 95% of the population of Ireland worship at the foot of the English Premiership table, papers will continue to give it over-whelming coverage. Attacking them for doing so will just make them think you're some sort of Eircom fundamentalist.

A much better approach, in my view, would be to point out that it wouldn't kill them to give the First Division some coverage in-addition. But don't expect Keane to be swopped for Kildare County at any stage soon, as commercial reality dictates otherwise.

Increasing popular demand for our game is to way to increase newspaper coverage of it.

**BelfieldHarp** · 07/04/2008, 11:25 AM

Bottom of Page 4 has the results...took me precisely 30 seconds to find them...you're right in saying that there's no league table however...

In general the Times is far from the worst in terms of league coverage in general, but, there's still loads more they could do...

**gustavo** · 07/04/2008, 11:44 AM

In last weekends Sunday Independent I could find the English 4th tier league table , the Scottish 4th tier league table , the French Spanish Italian and German league tables but not the Eircom Leagues tables.

**BohDiddley** · 07/04/2008, 12:07 PM

While it has one of the best individual eL reporters, The Irish Times has the least coverage of Irish football and, proportionately, probably the most EPL. Seems their much-promoted and lofty commitment to public service and local coverage stops at the door of the sports department.

As for being commercial, and being mysteriously forced to slavishly follow the market, the IT is a trust.
At least in terms of the Times's own rhetoric, being a minority should be an advantage!
As things stand, the tabloids that spend so much time trying to misrepresent Irish football on the hooligan front paradoxically also give it the best exposure on the sports pages.

**placid casual** · 07/04/2008, 12:09 PM

the irish times is right wing,consumer saturated jax roll with the importance of a pebble on sandymount strand.
phat boy humphries is comic book guy without the suaveness

**Calcio Jack** · 07/04/2008, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by placid casual

the irish times is right wing,consumer saturated jax roll with the importance of a pebble on sandymount strand.
phat boy humphries is comic book guy without the suaveness

I agree that the IT is poor when it comes to covering the LOI... but it is anything but a right wing paper...and if you think that about then I'd have to wonder how often if ever have you read it

ps.... for what it's worth the IT was the only paper that published the full wording of Justice O'Neills judgement on the spurious Judicial Review proceedings taken by Thomas D

**CJTheGull** · 07/04/2008, 2:34 PM

Like I said in the Sunday Tribune thread a week or two ago - they (The S.T. and The I.T.) are good newspapers, in fact the best that this small country has to offer but their coverage of the League of Ireland is laughable and really quite sad espically The Tribune.

In fairness the Irish Times sports supplement every Saturday has reports and the table etc from the Friday night's games and is decent enough and Emmet Malone is a very good journalist. As for the Tribune - they have 0 amount on the eircom League and it seems they would rather cover schools rugby and hockey rather the the LOI.

**placid casual** · 07/04/2008, 2:51 PM

[QUOTE=Calcio Jack;915010]I agree that the IT is poor when it comes to covering the LOI... but it is anything but a right wing paper...and if you think that about then I'd have to wonder how often if ever have you read it

i used to be a daily reader of the Irish Times and its "leanings" were anything but right wing.
then marty feldam kennedy turned up,swept clean any vestige of objective opinion(e.g eddie holt) and launched her campaign to have her PD views aired in the public domain.
so thanks but no thanks .

**Calcio Jack** · 07/04/2008, 3:38 PM

[QUOTE=placid casual;915136]

Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

I agree that the IT is poor when it comes to covering the LOI... but it is anything but a right wing paper...and if you think that about then I'd have to wonder how often if ever have you read it

i used to be a daily reader of the Irish Times and its "leanings" were anything but right wing.
then marty feldam kennedy turned up,swept clean any vestige of objective opinion(e.g eddie holt) and launched her campaign to have her PD views aired in the public domain.
so thanks but no thanks .

Well all I can is that there must be a different edition available around where i live, which is anything but Right Wing and IMO is very good at pointing the many failures of the PDs when it comes to issues such as the way Mary Harney is trying to mangle our health service into some sort of American style system whereby only the rich can afford propoer care etc.

Or maybe you think it is right wing because it has been relentless is pointing the facts out as to how our soon to be ex leader was misleading the country about his personal finances and with him being a self proclaimed Socialist and man of the people , I guess that makes the IT right wing !!

**Donegalcelt** · 07/04/2008, 9:09 PM

I do bits for a Sunday broadsheet, and while I am not asking anyone to do my job, a few suggestions would have been helpful. I posted on here almost a month ago, about ideas for pieces, and failed to get even one reply.

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=85717

**BohDiddley** · 08/04/2008, 5:18 PM

Originally Posted by Donegalcelt

I do bits for a Sunday broadsheet, and while I am not asking anyone to do my job, a few suggestions would have been helpful. I posted on here almost a month ago, about ideas for pieces, and failed to get even one reply.

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=85717

And then you gave up?

**Donegalcelt** · 08/04/2008, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by BohDiddley

And then you gave up?

No, sticking at it
there should be a few appearing in the next few weeks and months

**charliesboots** · 09/04/2008, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

ps.... for what it's worth the IT was the only paper that published the full wording of Justice O'Neills judgement on the spurious Judicial Review proceedings taken by Thomas D

Was it not the judgment of Mr Justice Roderick Murphy?

**Calcio Jack** · 09/04/2008, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by charliesboots

Was it not the judgment of Mr Justice Roderick Murphy?

Your are indeed correct... however point still valid re IT covering tat judgement and indeed its coverage of the subsequent full hearing of the Judical Review.

**JC_GUFC** · 09/04/2008, 1:04 PM

Originally Posted by Donegalcelt

I do bits for a Sunday broadsheet,

I can only assume you work for the SBP as the rest of Ireland's sunday papers are tabloids.

Probably stating the obvious but if you could find any pictures of players who "made it in England" playing for LOI clubs it would make a nice piece.

**gspain** · 10/04/2008, 8:15 AM

Emmet Malone is a good journalist but he is being squeezed. The quantity of coverage of domestic football in the IT has gone way down eventhough their sports coverage has gone up. Their main sports focus used to be rugby but everything else was covered. Now they focus on GAA with OK rugby coverage, premiership football and that's it. The sports editor is clearly a GAA fan and this does bias coverage. I've stopped buying it now except on saturdays eventhough it would be my paper of choice for news and current affairs. I still see it occasionally i nwork but frankly I'm fed up of it.

I don't consider the Tribune to be a good paper for anything.

The Indo's coverage is better as Daniel McDonnell is given more space. It is the tabloids who give the best coverage of domestic football.