spin – Slugger O'Toole

Foster and McGuinness used Royal authority to avoid competition for their head new spin doctor

Mick Fealty on September 17, 2016, 11:48 am

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There’s irony in the appointment of my old mucker David Gordon (a once fierce and dogged journalist) comes on foot of what we might have called in the Northern Ireland Water days a ‘single tender action’ (STA). No blame attaches to David of course, but it’s ironic that he was first to break the sacking in 2010 of four expert non-executive directors of Northern Ireland for allowing too many of these STAs. In a large concern like NI Water there’s always …

“sympathy is not the same as unequivocal support”

Blank on October 6, 2010, 7:58 pm

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Pete has noted coverage of ESRC Northern Ireland 2010 Westminster Election Survey. The report came with shock and awe coverage: Newsletter: ALARMING new figures show that 14 per cent of nationalists sympathise with dissident republican terrorists. UTV: The survey by the University of Liverpool shows that 14% of the nationalist community have some “sympathy for the reasons” why groups like the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA and Óglaigh na hÉireann continue their campaign of violence. BBC: Fourteen per cent of …

Attempt to kill police has shock value/media spin applied?

Blank on September 10, 2010, 7:09 pm

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The pipebomb left at a primary school in Antrim met condemnation from essentially everywhere – those that left it have offered no explanation. That attack was followed a few days later by what the PSNI describe as a viable device being found in Crumlin. Much, if not all, of the media coverage and condemnation of this treated it as another attack directed at children. However, the police station, where the device was discovered isn’t a primary school – that is …