Blurred Keys

€90,000 awared over phone tap article

Damages of €90,000 have been awarded against Associated Newspapers Ireland after a woman sued the newspaper publisher for using unlawfully tapped phone conversations in articles.

The court ruled the articles which appeared in Ireland on Sunday (now the Irish Mail on Sunday) were a breach of her constitutional right to privacy.

MORE: Woman awarded €90,000 over phone-tap articles

Dublin newspaper companies given red light for distribution at road junctions

The Irish Times reported yesterday that the Irish Health and Safety Authority and gardai have told Dublin newspaper publishers to stop distributing at road junctions in the city.

Freesheets Metro and Herald AM as well as the Evening Herald are affected.

Last June the Evening Herald featured a story which announced that people moving between stopped traffic could be a hazard.

That story was referring to window screen washers, but it now seams the HSA think newspaper sellers and distributes are also in danger, while the police are also concerned at any possible affect on traffic movement. 

MORE: Junctions 'unsafe' for newspaper distribution

Drury appointed Mail's managing editor

Paul Drury, currently executive editor at Associated Newspapers' Irish titles, is to become managing editor of the Irish Daily Mail and the Irish Mail on Sunday.

Pressgazette.co.uk says the new post will include liaising with the soon to be opened Irish Press Council, hiring staff, leader writing and overseeing weekend features.

MORE: Irish Mail's Paul Drury appointed managing editor

Irish Daily Mail colour piece leads to jury dismissal in 'Celebrity Farm' libel case

An Irish Daily Mail colour article was found to be prejudicial and has led to a jury being dismissed in a libel action case against Ireland on Sunday, now the Irish Mail on Sunday.

The High Court libel action was taken by broadcaster Paddy O'Gorman against Associated Newspapers. O’Gorman is suing the paper group over an article published in 2003 which he claims accused him of displaying "perverted sexuality" while taking part in the RTE Celebrity Farm reality TV show.

MORE: Libel action halted after article (subs reqd)
MORE: Jury in O'Gorman trial discharged

Irish Daily Mail back to 30c

Irish Daily Mail goes down in price as the Mail announces a price cut from 60c to 30c with the paper standing at 50c for Saturdays and 2euro for the Irish Daily Mail on Sunday edition.

Although reported in other newspapers, the paper announced the cut to its “magnificent readers” on Sunday will an A4 glossy letter from Editor-in-chief Ted Verity. 30c was the launch price just five months ago when the paper was merged with Ireland on Sunday.

UK papers' Irish editions take on Irish journalists who blog (Writing for free is a sin, you know)

On Sunday anonymous or pseudonymous columns in the Irish Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Times felt the need to tackle the issues of Irish journalists who blog.

Both newspapers are Irish editions of UK newspapers, and while their parent companies in the UK have built-up decent online presences both web portals for Ireland.

We hope it was all in good fun (possibly in some stretch of the term), as the parent editions of both publications have a number of blogs on their websites; the Times have over 20 and the Mail at least seven. And the Irish edition of the Sunday Times have at least two columnists who also blog.

The Irish edition of News International’s the Sunday Times had a go at the Sunday Tribune's Kevin Rafter and the Irish Examiner's Harry McGee, saying "while there are not enough pages in their respective newspapers to allow the lads full vent, there is too much room on the internet, so both have launched political blogs, presumably so they can publish all the blather their editors cut out".

While in the Irish Mail on Sunday, the media column ‘the Spike’ also had a poke at Kevin Rafter, along with his Tribune colleagues Richard Delevan, and Una Mullally.

UK newspapers have embraced blogs and there are now more Irish journalists who blog, but no Irish newspaper has blogs built into their website. [Feck this internet thing, I think I’m ranting on about newspapers and blogs, again!]

Mail group selling Buy & Sell

Ireland’s best known classified adverting outlet, Buy and Sell magazine and its online presence buyandsell.ie, is being sold by Associated Newspapers Ireland. The Irish Times is reporting (sub req) that the magazine has a valuation of €20 to €30 million.

Associated say they are to focus on newspaper publishing in Ireland – their Irish portfolio includes the Irish Daily Mail, and the Irish Mail on Sunday, as well as part ownership of the Dublin Metro freesheet - a joint project of Associated, Metro International and the Irish Times.

Irish Mail on Sunday cyber-squatting

The Sunday Buinness Post went one further then we did, saying “The Sunday Tribune appears to be ‘‘cyber-squatting’’ on the www.irishmailonsunday.com”.

The Post appears to have little or no proof of this.

Any owner of a domain name (ie irishmailonsunday.com) could redirect it to any domain name (ie tribune.ie).

Meanwhile, the Post reports that on the subject of the News of the World using the Ireland on Sunday [IoS] master head, Associated are “demanding compensation and said it was looking into the matter”.

Also reported is that there has “been no negative feedback from readers or advertisers about Associated Newspapers’ surprising abandonment of the Ireland on Sunday brand”. The question that needs asking is what about former readers?

Blurred Keys has found it surprising that at least a few people (we know of) were willing to buy the Mail controlled IoS, but not the rehashed newspaper under Mail branding. It is hard at this point to determine how many people out there have taken this approach, but - as other commentators have said - the Mail brand was weaker then IoS.

'Irishmailonsunday.com' redirects to competitor’s website, tribune.ie

Irishmailonsunday.com which uses the name of the recently launched Irish Mail On Sunday, redirects to the website of the Sunday Tribune, a competitor (vie here). Irish Mail On Sunday replaced Ireland On Sunday.

The registration records for the domain name states the ‘Registrant’ is “irish media m” in Dundalk. The only named contact is Stiofain Mac Dhaibhead.

Attempts to contact the named person in the domain registration, and the Irish Mail On Sunday at Associated Newspapers Ireland have gone unanswered.

Ireland on Sunday now Irish Mail on Sunday

Today the Irish Mail on Sunday has hit the newsagents for the first time. There has been much talk about the move by the Mail group to unite Ireland on Sunday (Ios) and the import the Mail on Sunday, into one as the Irish Mail on Sunday.

Ted Verity, editor in chief at Associated Newspapers Ireland, told the Irish Times that it’s a matter of “getting synergies between both Mail brands in Ireland”. And that “makes a lot of sense” on those terms.

Some commentators have taken different views. With the IT reporting that “many advertising observers believe the name change is occurring solely because recent sales have been so disappointing” (Verity counters this with the fact they haven’t been promoting the title in the run up to the change), and others including the Sunday Turbine’s Tribune’s Richard Delevan have questioned the re-brand/synergy/whatever after the “40m or so invested in building the IoS brand”, and a while ago Adam Maguire commented "The funny thing is that the (Ireland) on Sunday is the more successful of the two publications, so wouldn’t logic dictate that the daily edition should be renamed in like with the IoS rather than vice versa?". More discussion at boards.ie's News/Media.