Here’s a fascinating post from the blogger who brought David Norris’ presidential campaign shuddering to a halt (see also Pete’s richer note on the wider provenance of the story). Note that ‘all’ he needed was a nudge in the right direction (from a plausibly deniable source), Google and the heavy duty journalistic search engine Lexus Nexus.
Two thoughts. For all the slightness of the power invested in the office Presidential elections must be the dirtiest in the Irish electoral calendar. Norris’ colourful and impetuous life has proven a lightening rod for that.
How easily he seems to have been tipped over with a modicum of curiosity and decent research skills. Ireland is not burdened with a Murdoch, but its press too often mistake deference for solid Irish values of decency and civility.
The eponymous blogger at The System Works has blown a whistle, both on Senator Norris, and on the often too cosy relationship between the political and media classes in Ireland, as it happens, north and south, in which contact is traded for good stories (or making bad ones ‘disappear’).
This non Irish blogger has demonstrated both the power of solid research, and how vulnerable the political classes can be when the irregulars take the job once solely delegated to the ladies and gentlemen of the Press.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty