“MB - You have probably seen the documentary on RTE recently concerning the ‘looming’ property ‘landing’. While it was to a degree one sided; this was definitely something that needed to be said. Yet the next day there is an article in the Irish Independent asking why RTE was scaremongering - ‘RTE broadcasts fear in the market’.

FT - You are absolutely right about that. It was interesting that RTE did that. RTE are one of the few media outlets that don’t take property advertising. It’s not a simple one plus one equation, though it is undoubtedly true that if not the choice of subject, but the prominence that is given a certain subject has to be related to the direct interests of the media outlets themselves. There is no question that almost all of the Irish media for the last 10-15 years has had a crucial economic stake in a rising property market. Because property advertising is very lucrative and is a very important part of what makes the Irish media tick. It’s not that a newspaper like the Irish Times will not publish things that say ‘this is a bubble’. It has published a number of pieces and very authoritative pieces, but in a sense it’s where are those pieces going to appear. How are they related to the broader agenda, in terms of how we understand our society at the moment? So I’m not saying there is an absolute mechanical relationship between certain interests and what appears, but I am saying that the relationship exists. People need to understand this, it is not a council of despair - well you know there is nothing you can do about this. A critical understanding of how the media works is one in which people understand the kind of relationships that are involved and how to read and see that it is not necessarily an objective and accurate reflection of everything that is important to Irish society. ”

http://www.mediabite.org/article_The-Corporate-Media—Part-1_474268952.html

I think you’ll find the john rocca designed tan moccasin is in vogue in IT towers these years gone by now.

“Although it is a humdrum piece of neo-classical pastiche, with five-storey blocks of smallish flats standing on stilts above basement car parking, it took a lot of courage to build in Gardiner Street at that time. Certainly, no other developers were prepared to do so. After all, the junction with Seán MacDermott Street was known as “Handbag Corner” because of the dexterity of local thieves in snatching bags from cars while women drivers were stopped at the traffic lights. Custom Hall pioneered the regeneration of Gardiner Street, changing the image of the area.”

“Although it is a humdrum piece of neo-classical pastiche, with five-storey blocks of smallish flats standing on stilts above basement car parking, it took a lot of courage to build in Gardiner Street at that time.”

If this the I.T. sucking up, I’d hate to see them lay the boot in.