With the referendum on the Eighth Amendment fast approaching it’s hard to keep up with all the media coverage, but a few items stand out. Instead of doing a head-to-head debate which might have allowed for claims to be interrogated, News at One (RTÉ Radio 1) had two obstetricians on different days. As journalists just…
With RTÉ’s Leap of Faith gone into sleep mode for the summer, you wouldn’t go far wrong checking out Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster) for some stimulating religious and ethical discussion with an Irish flavour. Last Sunday morning it felt like something of a time warp with issues like land grabbing, slavery, and whether children…
Many political shows get phased out over the summer, presumably because the Dáil is not sitting but I don’t get the logic of a religious affairs show ending in April. Last Friday’s Leap of Faith (RTÉ Radio 1) was unfortunately the last in the current series, but it will be back in the Autumn. The…
It was good to see Unreported World back on Channel 4 last Friday night – these short documentaries highlight various unfamiliar stories from around the world, often focusing on justice issues. The first episode in the new series featured the inspiring and moving story of a free ambulance service and voluntary paramedics serving the vulnerable…
The sense of dread that came over me when Donald Trump was elected President of the USA was heightened considerably last week. There were silly tweets from him about launching missiles “nice, new and smart”, after the reported gas attacks near Damascus. In a sleepless moment last Friday night, on an extended Newsroom programme (BBC…
Religious programmes are pretty scarce on Channel 4, so when one pops up on a prime time slot you tend to take notice. Jesus’ Female Disciples: The New Evidence last Sunday night, was rather full of its own importance with claims of rewriting early Christian history, of “explosive” new evidence, “overturning centuries of Christian thought”,…
The Holy Week and Easter season usually sees a considerable increase in religious programming and this year was particularly good. There were the old reliables like The Robe (BBC2) and Jesus of Nazareth (Sky Arts, and still impressive), but I like to look out for something different. One of the most high profile and innovative…
Ironically, after celebrating St Patrick abroad and at home, Government figures lost no time in getting down to making it easier to end the lives of unborn children. The issue figured intensively in the media most of the week and I wasn’t too pleased with RTÉ’s idea of balanced coverage. It felt at times too…
St Patrick’s weekend brought a flurry of snow and religious programmes of varying quality, some related to the feast day, some not. On the Friday, BBC2 launched a new series, Pilgrimage – The Road to Santiago, featuring a bunch of celebrities doing sections of the Camino pilgrimage over a few weeks. It was enjoyable, took…
On Tuesday night of last week the Catholic Bishops made a significant intervention in the Eighth Amendment debate, issuing a humane and measured statement. On the Nine News (RTE 1) that night, Archbishop Eamon Martin expressed dismay that the right to life of unborn children could be “obliterated” from the Constitution. On Wednesday’s Morning Ireland…
Brendan O’Regan