Today we had a media lecture from Dr. Roderick Flynn at Dublin City University. He specifically talked about the Irish media in print and broadcasting. He began by simply stating that there is in fact an Irish media. The signs on the streets that are written in both English and Irish and listening to shows such as “The Simpsons” and “Dora the Explorer” are dubbed so they preserve the Irish language. Some of the more notable newspapers are the Irish Independent, and the Irish Times. The Irish Independent tends to be more liberal than the Irish Times that is conservative. There are national or regional newspapers but there is no city specific newspaper because the market is so small. As Flynn said, “Everything radiates out of Dublin.” There is one exception to that is The Examiner which sells well in Kerry. It was interesting to hear about Tony O’Reilly and his importance to Ireland. He borrowed money from Rupert Murdock in the 70s and 80s to start The Independent. He also owns Waterford Crystal, as well as the largest cable network. There are others that see him as an anti-figure. It is also important to note that the U.S and Ireland differ slightly with the web. In the U.S there is a rush to be the first to place a news story online. In Ireland, there is no rush. It is simply not because they don’t care but because they are not too familiar with the concept and there is libel laws. Church and state are not separated in Ireland. Concerning broadcasting in Ireland the 4 main domestic TV channels are RTE 1, RTE 2, TV 3, and 3e. What shocked me the most was hearing about the licensing fee. For instance if you own two televisions in your home here, you need to have two licenses which brings me to my second point about broadcasting which may or may not surprise you which is here in Ireland it is about two televisions per household compared four per household in the U.S.
After the lecture, we ate lunch at a café. I had a chicken soup with a grilled cheese and ham sandwich and water for about 5 Euros. It was good. Then my friends and I went grocery shopping. We bought a lot of groceries but the grapes were by far the most delicious. Came back to our apartment and had a break. We met at 1:30 p.m. to take a group photo out in the courtyard. Then we went on a bus tour of Dublin. The bus itself was a double-decker bus that had no roof on the top deck which made it great to take photos. I found out that the tourist bus was the most diverse employers in Ireland. We drove by a lot of places such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, government buildings, parks, the zoo which in fact homes the most lions that will be exported to Africa. These lions are the lions that you see in the opening credits of MGM studio. They are also the second oldest zoo. As the tour went on, the weather got colder and colder.
A group of my friends and I ate dinner at O’Sheas. I had the chicken and vegetable soup for four Euros. After dinner, I had some free time to upload photos from the day. At 7 p.m. the entire group met to reflect on the mornings lecture by Dr. Flynn. Immediately after we then hopped on tour bus where our driver, Vladimir drove us to the RTE station to be a part of a live performance of The Frontline. This particular episode was an in-depth discussion on Ireland’s economy, particularly unemployment. Currently one in every nine people is unemployed. Prior to the actual taping, they showed the audience a documentary to various solutions to the problem. The first position was an implementation of a “smart economy” that demands the creation of jobs. This would not so much focus on the construction of more hotel buildings but more so focused on the usage of intelligence coming from bright college students that are leaving college and just entering the work force for innovation. The second position was a dramatic change in the constitution. This would come from good ethics and what the founders’ core values were. The third idea position was that there should be a change in parliament and the executive branch. More elected officials are thought to be needed at the local level. The fourth was the usage of good ethics and what the founders’ core values were. This point reiterated putting people into power that have the knowledge and are not placed into power because of their connections. Being a part of the studio audience was an experience I would never forget. I have never seen so many lights in one studio before. I got firsthand look on how a show is put together. According from fellow classmates and teachers I was on television for a few seconds.
I really like seeing how the front doors to the houses are painted different colors because back in the day children would work instead of go to school and therefore were illiterate. So their employers would tell them to complete their task for instance to go to the third red door on your right. I also like the closeness of the streets. Surprisingly it hasn’t shocked me how drivers drive differently compared to the U.S. I could go on however I am tired and we are leaving tomorrow at 8 a.m.
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