I could hardly write this column without reference to last week’s weather event. It dominated media news and current affairs, perhaps to an excessive degree. I certainly thought it was going over the top when it was prominent on Claire Byrne Live, as far back as last Monday night, and until the snow actually arrived much…
Some of the things I like about Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster) are the variety of items and the decent length of the show, facilitating thorough discussion. Last Sunday’s episode started with the state of charities in the wake of the Oxfam controversy. Andrew Dougal, a former charity CEO, mounted a robust defence of the…
We’re well used to TV dramas scheduled for one episode per week, and in these days of box set binging (even if the ‘box’ is often virtual) it’s a nice kind of anticipation. Last week, however, ITV ran the new drama Trauma for three nights in a row. Tense and intriguing, with several unlikely plot…
If you needed something spiritual and relaxing (and don’t we all) I can recommend a good show this week. I rarely watch BBC Alba, but I enjoyed their religious music show Alleluia, on Tuesday of last week. It’s a simple format: spiritual songs, with interviews and readings. Of course it’s in Scots Gaelic, which is…
It was a mixed week when it comes to issues surrounding the welfare of children. There were so many welcome media debates alerting parents to the dangers of online grooming and abuse of children. I heard calls for the banning of smartphones in primary schools and I heard of the Government rightly supporting initiatives to…
Last Saturday was Holocaust Memorial Day and also the day An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar declared (on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, curiously) that he would campaign to liberalise Ireland’s abortion laws. To mark the former, Nationwide (RTÉ 1) last Friday evening broadcast a moving programme featuring the Island of Ireland Peace Choir on a visit…
I spent more hours than was healthy watching Oireachtas TV coverage of the Dáil debates on the Report of the Committee on the Eighth Amendment. It was not encouraging. First off the overwhelming majority of contributors were strongly pro-choice and seemed completely oblivious to the existence of a baby in a pregnancy situation. Clare Daly TD…
The various TV companies often launch new drama series at this time of year and so far this year’s crop is a mixed bag. The best I’ve seen so far is Next of Kin (ITV/TV3, Monday nights, with ITV a week ahead) – it’s a rollercoaster of emotion and conflict, with more emphasis so far…
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has a ‘Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs’. One quote is of particular interest – “a presenter and/or a reporter on a current affairs programme shall not express his or her own views on matters that are either of public controversy or the subject…
Over the Christmas period you expect lots of feel-good movies and carol services, which is all very good, but every year I look out for something new, something different, a programme that engages in a creative and contemporary way with the Christmas story of the Gospels. Happily I found a few such programmes this year.…
Brendan O’Regan