Recruit Ireland have just posted a new role on their site: TV PRESENTER WANTED | DUBLIN . I particularly like their emphasis on Salary Subject to occasional 10% cuts. No point in being unrealistic in times like these. Considering your predecessor you should definitely think of applying for this role if you can stay up past 9pm without showing signs of visible exhaustion.
Citizens do journalists out of jobs?
(Dammit just lost this post when my browser crashed. Trying to piece it together)
Josh Catone writes on ReadWriteWeb in the aftermath of Wednesday’s earthquake in Britain that
“citizen journalism tools being used by people who were on the ground in those areas [are] scooping the mainstream press.”
In his piece about this he refers to BreakingNewsOn a site that uses Twitter to report breaking news. I decided to have a look at BreakingNewsOn. Six of the top ten stories at the time I looked at it referred to traditional news agencies (CNN, ABC, New York Times etc.) as sources with no links. I think both have their place and Twitter and other micro-blogs are increasingly going to be the site of breaking news. However I think the majority of media consumers will for some time continue to visit sites such as RTÉ and BBC as their main news sources. Similarly I think we will see an increased use of Web 2.0 on traditional media sites. Having worked on a corporate-style news site I agree with the commenter who says “For the MSM to print unmediated chatter is expecting too much, surely?” although I imagine traditional news agencies will have to allow their reporters to do this more and more. The question “Who edits the news?” will generate even more interesting answers.
With the arrival of mobile video streaming from the likes of Qik (do those people know that we can see them all too?) we are also going to see more live video of planned and unexpected events. I think all these “citizen journalism tools” are brilliant especially if you can’t attend an event yourself.
Like the way I won’t be attending the BlogAwards tomorrow. The babysitter was sorted, Himself was roped in (if only in a let’s all go the circus frame of mind) but luckily I hadn’t reached the outfit planning stage when I was struck down with a nasty throat infection. Temperature of 40+ last night. Aches and pains all over. So it’s as well I wasn’t nominated. Really.
Wacky tobacky
Bhuaigh sí! She won! Beidh an Ghaeilge an-fheiceálach anois!
RTÉ News: Tobacco warnings to be made bilingual: “From October, cigarette packets on sale here will have to carry warnings in Irish as well as English.”
Well at least Big Tobacco will be paying for it. Nobody can complain about it being a waste of taxpayers money.
In relation to that there was an interesting editorial from Lá today about The Examiner’s report and editorial about the cost of interpreting and translation services for the Irish Language in the EU. I actually wrote the following letter to the Examiner in response. I know it’s a little facetious but really it’s not always about the money.
A chara,
In your editorial today you comment that “the review, by EU officials in 2012, which will decide whether the “official working language” status can be sustained will be objective and without emotion.” This may be the case but it will not affect the official status of Irish in Ireland. According to the constitution Irish is the first official language of this state and its current status in the EU is partly in recognition of this. To amend it a constitutional referendum would be required. Although the financial cost seems to be the main concern of your editorial you can be certain that all politicians are acutely aware of the political cost of tinkering with the constitution.
On the subject of financial cost if we are to decide language use in the EU on cost alone, why bother offering any translation or interpretation service at all? The EU could run a competition – whichever language costs the least in interpretation/ translation costs becomes the official language of the EU. No doubt that would also energise us “language activists”.
Le dea-ghuí,
Roseanne Smith
I don’t read The Examiner but I don’t think they printed it. I don’t think they printed any correspondence on the subject.
Flash Floods
My colleague tells me that there is flash flooding in South Dublin. You definitely heard it here first because I can’t find anything else about it online.
I know I haven’t posted in a while and you are not popping in now to hear me moan about the weather but it is depressing, really, really grim here at the moment.
However I found a blog (and you definitely didn’t hear this here first cos he has won a ton of awards) which really cheered me up. Good on ye Grandad.
I nuacht eile blagadóireachta, tá mo sheanchara an tImeall tosaithe ag podchraoladh i nGaeilge arís. Maith thú, Imeallóir!
And speaking of podcasts, if you have nippers and want to entertain them at night or if you are like Abs and find children’s stories extremely soporific, check out www.storynory.com. Garman was rapt listening to this on our last holiday and I have downloaded all the episodes in preparation for summer holiday no. 2. How very modrin of me!
I am Jeannie Cusamano
Last night at about 11.15 Himself and I were watching the last episode in the first series of the Sopranos, “I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano” when there was an almighty bang. The house shook. Then the sound of a car racing off. We looked at each other. It wasn’t a backfire because it wasn’t that sharp, contained sort of noise. It had a bass shuddery element to it. Considering someone was shot down the road last week, Himself decided to ring the police but even by the time he was finished there was a garda car across the road. In the next half an hour there were more garda cars, two fire brigades and an ambulance. We listened to the midnight news but nothing. 7am news this morning revealed that someone had thrown a grenade at a house across the road. A grenade. Somebody living near us owns grenades and thinks throwing them around is the best way to resolve an unpleasant work situation. It’s scary. Very scary. Thankfully no-one was hurt. RTÉ News: Gardaí probe Crumlin grenade attack: “Gardaí probe Crumlin grenade attack
Friday, 29 June 2007 11:04
A grenade has exploded in the front garden of a house in south Dublin.”