Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) – Page 43 – Slugger O'Toole

Sinn Féin ard fheis – failed motions – ambassadors, abortion, Household Charges and China

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 28, 2012, 4:29 pm

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Out of 176 or so motions in the clár, just twelve failed to get the support of Sinn Féin’s ard fheis. None of the failed motions had been proposed by the central party Ard Chomhairle. Kudos to Sinn Féin for publishing a list of motions on their website and updating their status as the voting proceeded in batches throughout the weekend. In many ways, through its use of streaming over many years and its ‘live’ web updates of speeches and …

Local papers and journalists getting UK-wide recognition at Regional Press Awards

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 27, 2012, 10:06 pm

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John McGurk (Sunday Life) - winner of Daily/Sunday Reporter of the Year 2011

Running alongside the build-up to and finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, it’s the season of newspaper awards. With fifteen nominations shortlisted across eleven categories in the Society of Editors’ Regional Press Awards, how did NI papers do at Friday’s award lunch when examined against the best of their regional counterparts right across the UK? Daily/Sunday Reporter of the Year John McGurk – Sunday Life – WINNER Bimpe Archer – Irish News – HIGHLY COMMENDED Ciaran Barnes – Sunday Life …

BCC’s proposed £20m conferencing investment in the Waterfront, knocking down the Studio in the process

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 25, 2012, 4:57 pm

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annotated view of the Belfast Waterfront and nearby buildings

When Belfast City Council’s Investment Programme was launched earlier this year, it included a reference to expending the conference/exhibition space at the Belfast Waterfront. Along with colleagues, I idly wondered where the additional space would be found. Would they build a glass covered bridge across to the unfinished building sitting in front of the Waterfront? Could the ugly carbuncle (Lanyon Quay Building) between the Waterfront and the new Laganside Courts building be used? It turns out that the option being …

Belfast Black Taxi Tour – political insight or Troubles tourism?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 21, 2012, 11:05 am

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A black taxi tour of Belfast? Chris Jenkins raised questions about the morality of troubles tourism in a recent Guardian Unlimited article. Matthew Symington followed up with an extended interview on Eamonnmallie.com in which Chris again challenged the trend of “money being made from human tragedy” and the DUP’s switch from opposing a “shrine” at Long Kesh to supporting a “Mecca for tourists” at the Maze site. There are huge areas of Belfast that I’ve never visited. Election observing has …

Hasten slowly – though no tangible signs that the Anglican supertanker is turning

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 14, 2012, 11:00 am

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So those who had expected murder in the cathedral on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday, even on all three, were predictably disappointed. What they got instead was . . . sex! In this morning’s Irish Times, Patsy McGarry looks at the parallels between the Church of Ireland’s May 1982 Synod meeting which tackled the issue of women priests and the May 2012 Synod which has been dominated by the issue of gay priests. The traditional marriage motion played a game …

Seanin Graham named CIPR NI Journalist of the year; Belfast Telegraph wins Newspaper of the year

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 11, 2012, 11:55 pm

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The CIPR Media Awards – or the Coca-Cola Chartered Institute of Public Relations Media Awards 2012 in association with SPAR to give them their full title – were held earlier tonight in Titanic Belfast the Europa Hotel. The awards are mostly print-orientated, with a nod to television, some new media mentions in the shortlists (and one winner) but no mention of radio. Two years ago, the Belfast Telegraph’s Claire McNeilly won two awards on the eve of her wedding. This …

Pay your rates by credit card: you pay 2% extra. Pay by debit card: LPS pay 29p.

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 11, 2012, 10:53 am

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Northern Ireland ratepayers choosing to pay their rates bills by credit card contributed around £32,000 to Santander last year. How do you pay your rates? Pay the whole year off up front and get the small discount? Pay monthly? Direct debit? Post Office? Or maybe you put on your credit card? Increasingly, government bodies are offering online card payment as an option for tax collection and bill payment. But just like booking a flight, there’s a surcharge. You pay dearly …

Are public libraries under-appreciated and under-used?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 7, 2012, 11:29 pm

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From the 1880s, Andrew Carnegie began to give money to build libraries – the most widely recognised feature of his philanthropy. From that date, he devoted himself to providing the capital for the building of public libraries and the development of library services. Between 1883 and 1929, 2,509 libraries were built, including 1,689 in the USA, 660 in the UK and Ireland, 125 in Canada, and others in Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean and South Africa. So it should come …

Electronic counting

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 4, 2012, 4:59 pm

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Electronic counting is being used at a number of counts at this week’s elections across Scotland, England and Wales. London Elects 2012 (the independent team that organises teh Mayor London and London Assembly elections) produced a detailed – ie, eight minutes long – overview of the electronic counting process. While awaiting confirmation of Boris’ margin of victory, I know some Slugger readers will be keen to increase their political trivia … particularly since MLAs, Electoral Commission and EONI staff are …

A “Boris in every city” rejected at the polls

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 4, 2012, 4:45 pm

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May 2012 mayoral referendum results

David Cameron’s vision of strong elected personalities leading cities across England [Ed – aren’t those called councillors?] has been rejected by nearly all those cities who held mayoral referendums on Thursday. With all the city referendums now counted, Bristol is the only new city to support the switch to having a directly elected mayor. However, the Doncaster electorate overwhelming voted (62% in favour) to keep their elected mayor. Turnout was underwhelming, between 24-35%. Apathy rules. Perhaps a matter of people …

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery? Is the Belfast Telegraph standing on the shoulders of the News Letter?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 1, 2012, 1:40 pm

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news letter belfast telegraph articles comparison

Two articles in local newspapers this week show a remarkable similarity. On Monday, the News Letter published a story (also in Coleraine Times) following up Ian Paisley Jnr’s statement in Westminster Hall last week about the future of A&E at the Causeway Hospital. A tip off pointed to Tuesday’s Belfast Telegraph website which also carries the story. While a significant portion of both articles rely on statements made by Ian Paisley Jnr MP in the House of Commons – available …

Local papers well represented in the Society of Editors’ Regional Press Awards shortlists

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 29, 2012, 9:15 am

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Some local newspapers and journalists appear in the shortlists for the Society of Editors’ Regional Press Awards that celebrate the best of UK regional newspaper journalism in 2011. Good to see the local weekly The Ulster Herald making the list alongside Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and Sunday Life success. Given the entrance fee, some local publications may chose not to nominate. However, with only five names in each shortlist, Northern Ireland journalists and titles clearly dominate some of the categories …

The Biggest Issues – what happens when talk radio goes awry?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 28, 2012, 7:30 pm

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One day I’ll have time to listen to the Afternoon Play Afternoon Drama live on Radio 4 while sitting on a comfy chair with a hot cup of tea in my hand. Until the mortgage is paid off, I have to settle for dipping in and out every week or two. Last Tuesday’s play – The Biggest Issues – was written by Annie McCartney, recorded and produced in Belfast. [Click on the link to listen.] Set in a fictitious – …

The misunderstood Lord Mayor shuffle – timing, facts & Sinn Féin tying themselves in knots over friendship

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 28, 2012, 3:22 pm

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May 2012 front page An Phoblacht

Once a month, the postie delivers a bulging A5 envelope. Stuffed inside is a twice-folded copy of An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin’s 32 page monthly newspaper. The May edition’s back page is devoted to a story that broke in the Belfast Telegraph last Monday. Niall Ó Donnghaile is “leaving his post a few days early to allow a DUP Mayor to take up office in time for the Jubilee celebrations”. The newspaper story explained that the new mayor would be “elected …

Child support payment arrears rising – 7,959 children in NI affected

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 23, 2012, 10:06 pm

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child support maintenance appears - CMED - via The Detail

Windscale became Sellafield. The Child Support Agency became the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division. The Detail have been taking a look at the levels of arrears in child support payments across Northern Ireland. (The figures released do not cover private maintenance arrangements agreed between parents.) A quarter (27%) of the 28,966 children entitled to receive maintenance payments through the child support system did not receive any money in the last three months of 2011. The total outstanding arrears have risen …

Being an all-Ireland party has its downsides – Sinn Fein’s inconsistency on property taxes

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 21, 2012, 9:48 pm

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Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes spoke at the North-South East West panel at the Alliance conference this afternoon. He spoke about the inconsistency of Sinn Fein’s positions in different parts of the island of Ireland. You can listen to his comments (should start at 8 min 36 secs): And as the minister of state for the Department of Finance I’m interested in Northern Ireland’s household charges and property taxes. I understand your property tax works out at an average of …

Round-up of today’s Alliance party conference [including audio of speeches]

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 21, 2012, 8:24 pm

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Alliance shifted their conference this year to a larger venue. More exhibition space, more spaces to chat, a larger hall, and a lot more parking. It was a good move and party members and exhibitors alike seemed universally positive about the new venue. The mood was upbeat though definitely not smug. A pride was taken in Alliance values being translated into policy decisions in two departments. Some big characters who shaped the party’s policies and growth were remembered: Oliver Napier, …

Animated Alliance #apni12

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 19, 2012, 7:23 pm

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Alliance party political and party election broadcasts have a style all of their own. The yellow brand and the Naomi Long avatar are perfect for animation. This week’s party political broadcast being shown on BBC and UTV in the run up to their conference on Saturday continues the theme. Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast)Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic …

Alliance Party conference preview #apni12

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 19, 2012, 9:00 am

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Alliance leading change banner

The Alliance Party conference on Saturday finishes the 2011/12 season of party conferences. [Sinn Fein’s Ard Fheis (which was postponed from last spring to the autumn) will take place at the end of May in Killarney.] This year Alliance’s venue switches from the mobile not-spot of the Dunadry Hotel to the DUP-favourite mobile not-spot of La Mon Hotel. Moving on from the party’s recent strapline of “Leading Change”, the 2012 conference theme is ‘Delivering Change” and the morning agenda includes …

Belfast Telegraph says “nothing is going to change”

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 18, 2012, 11:30 pm

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The online Belfast Telegraph today featured an open letter from the paper’s editor Mike Gilson in which he cryptically defends the Belfast Telegraph’s reach and cryptically explains the decision to switch to being a morning paper only. See if you can spot the sentence where he clearly explains the change? Facts that show the Belfast Telegraph is greatest media force in Northern Ireland Throughout its 142-year history the Belfast Telegraph has been the most comprehensive and trustworthy news service for …