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Frilly Keane at 12:06 pm November 3, 2017
Tom Humphries
"It's not a great thing in the current editorial climate for a columnist to lack certainty. Seeing both sides of the issue is a crippling form of paralysis in a environment where the pace is set by bloggers and chat-room tyrants, those lucky creatures who have never felt a second or third thought tugging at their sleeve."
Tom Humphries. The Locker Room, Irish Times, 2008
That was in November 2008. I'm not going to provide the link to the full Locker Room article, but the quote currently sits on a thread on a an old GAA chat forum that hosts over 1500 posts.
The above is being applied as an example of how the established media and their household names treated those of us that populated this now very efficient super-highway from when it was still a scruffy slow-going boreen.
We [those on the chat forums] had our stuff lifted and cogged, while being called names like tyrants and keyboard warriors.
During all those forums, threads and posts, I don't know of any authentic Chat-Room Comrade that went legal to shut someone up or have commentary removed that did not suit; there was plenty posturing, leg cocking and threats to Moderators, a bitta' blagguarding at matches here n'there, (like a bucket of slurry traveling from Galway to the CBS Car Park in Thurles) but that was the real fun of those days.
Because nobody was really to know then that there were two victims and 16,000 texts, or that something far more sinister was going on behind the need to use the Irish Times Locker Room to cover his real interest in underage camogie; I'm not going to poke in to it again.
The subject of that particular Locker Room was the second Cork Strike. (The one led by Donal Óg Cusack, and the then GPA by association).
Tom Humphries used the Irish Times, to represent, promote and shout out Donal Óg's agenda, and wholly on behalf of, and for the benefit of Donal Óg He took sides, and to add to his denying the primary principle of a Journalist, he was also engaged by Donal Óg in a private sub-contracting capacity as a ghost-writer.
Not his employer, his editor nor a single colleague dared mention his hypocrisy, or question his exposure to conflict and influence, or that as a consequence he has brought their profession into disrepute.
Likewise, from his own peers in the sports writers fraternity specifically the GAA writers; not one dared criticise the Irish Times and their Sports Section referring to non-striking Inter-County hurlers as "Spotty Imposters." Or even the GPA for refusing membership to these players.
That is a Double Standard that continues today. It's the blind eye.
Back then there was them, the established Print and Broadcast Media and Us – the t'internet "the pyjama people."
Actually, I remember an All-Ireland winning Manager calling 'me' "a coward and a very depressed individual who must be one of Corks worst losers." As shur we all thought it was funny at the time. We were the Puck Rockers and getting picked out like that was like cracking a bottle of Champagne off the bow of pirate ship call the Anarchy.
Today we are all steadily balanced between Mainstream Media and Social Media; and the likes of me are no longer the tyrants. But professional scepticism, Independence and transparency has never been more important.
Never before has it become more important to disclose the credentials and possible partialities and self-interests of any commentator or expert presented to the public in either medium or format.
In the era of Fake News and a more dominant ownership controlled media, the citizen has to be advised fully to the ethos and business interests of anyone being presented as an Expert, or presenting themselves as such. That includes paid staff Journalists, pundits and columnists.
There was a notorious blind eye event here on our own doorstep witnessed by those same people and organisations, including us Tyrants, that was allowed off to be forgotten about.
I am talking about a former Ireland Captain and Lions player, who is now to be seen regularly sitting behind a TV studio sports desk or pictured as a correspondent in the print media.
With all due respect to him, his family, his fans, his employers even that ape Hook; the media – be it social or Mainstream, that includes me and all of you, and our hosts here; we simply cannot dare to question a randy, narcissistic Theatre Director for their carry on and leave this and all the others behind and out of the spot light.
That makes us all complicit in the Double Standards and cover ups that take years before there is any contrition or truth realised.
I think there are enough of us that know better than to believe the insincere waffle from RTÉ and Marian [Finucane] and the likes, while pretending to have discussions between sides who clearly have pockets filled with conflicts.
Let's boycott the papers for not reporting the news in full. Let's question every single utterance from commentators and experts being put in front of us, and have them empty those pockets of conflicts out in front of us.
Let's do more than just tell them that our eyes are wide open; lets prove it.
Only then can they all be convinced that they can no longer rely on the Blind Eye that greased their operational and professional Double Standards, and cushioned their failures for all those years.
There can be no friends or an assumed loyalty more important than Truth and Justice.
This is a new World Order lads; Get used to it and get yere houses in order.
Frilly Keane's column usually appears here on the first Friday of every month. Follow Frilly on Twitter: @frillykeane
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Posted in Misc and tagged frilly keane, frilly on friday at 12:06 pm on November 3, 2017 by Frilly Keane.
27 thoughts on "Nowhere To Hide"
Andrew November 3, 2017 at 12:36 pm
Excellent piece. I agree with all of it.
alatriste kid jensen November 3, 2017 at 12:48 pm
locker room was a sports opinion column. He was entitled to his opinion whether you liked it or not. I do think it's funny that one of the times award winning writers bears an uncanny resemblance to his jailbird ex colleague.
Harry Molloy November 3, 2017 at 1:13 pm
I noticed that before, they're the spit of each other!
Joe cool November 3, 2017 at 1:13 pm
Honestly, I usually skip by Frillys articles, not my cup of tea. But massive kudos Frilly, i enjoyed that one
phil November 3, 2017 at 1:13 pm
Was Humphries put on the sex offenders register ?
alatriste kid jensen November 3, 2017 at 6:54 pm
yes he would have to be as he got an actual custodial sentence.
Paddy at the Howth Summit November 3, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Agreed. Yet Broadsheet continues to provide links to RTE and the Irish Times and to advertise their content in advance and generate clicks after the face too.
I'd bet Frilly and Friends from the blogosphere get an Artists' Tax Exemption from the Revenue for their work either…
Frilly Keane November 3, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Loads of it
I've so much grant money, advances, royalties, and dividends lashing in I barely notice the tax relief
Ger Nalist November 3, 2017 at 1:23 pm
"Nowhere to hide" says Frilly, using a pseudonym
Boycott newspapers, put them out of business, and then we're left with anonymous online rants like this?
Nah. Thanks all the same
jusayinlike November 3, 2017 at 1:34 pm
Rant from journalist using pseudonym.. yea at last Frill isn't being paid for her opinion, until you lot "Ger"..
rotide November 3, 2017 at 1:35 pm
As much as i enjoy an online rant from frilly as much as the next person, suggesting that we do away with actual journalism and get our 'news' from twitter and tublr is quite frankly ludicrious.
As has been pointed out , Humphries column was an OPINON piece. The bottom half of the internet doesn't have the patent on that.
The reason noone published much about O'Gara is that no one should fcking care apart from him and his family. That's a matter for him and his wife but feel free to keep linking salacious stuff like that in the name of some SJW campaign.
Ah here lads
I'm only asking all the real paid pros and household names to deliver more accuracy, fact based, and transparent copy
Otherwise eff off
They do.
The only examples you gave were an opinion piece and a radio reporter not wanting to talk about gossip when at the time there was only a blog to talk about.
Real media will never be able to deliver accurate and fact based copy anywhere near as fast as twitter reports things simply because accuracy and fact based stuff takes a lot more time than simply typing something on twitter.
If Marian allowed the utter nonsense that was being talked last night on the national airwaves, there would be just as big a backlash
You should be ashamed of yourself
What was talked about last night
You're a disgrace
Why am I a disgrace?
Vanessa at one point said that it was a disgrace that Finnucane didn't talk about the Colgan considering it was claimed he had slapped a woman on the arse. Of course, these claims hadn't come to light when she did her show. The only visible public claims were Grace Dyas' blog which she clearly didn't want to talk about because at the time it was completely unsubstantiated.
She also claimed that Colgan didn't trreat men this way and only women, when only minutes earlier John had said he was a boor to everyone, that he found weakness in people and was bitchy about all and sundry.
That's not even touching on the idiot who thinks we should do away with due process and the legal system.
Like i said, Nonsense.
Ah would you give over
The chalk miners in Georgia could tell this man's behavior towards women was by far worse than anything fellas had to tolerate
If you want ta' hold Marian's handie here after she dribbled over a news item that she knew FULL WELL was about one of her weekend buddies
Then you are not just a disgrace to call any honest discussion about it "Utter Nonsense"
You are a moron
Milo November 3, 2017 at 4:58 pm
Frilly, I have no idea what you
do or who you are, but your schtick is thin and plain wrong. Y
ou dont understand media, journalism or how money is made in those industries. Just cos you have a free column on de web doesn't make you
a hack she whatYour writing is flimsy at best and you
should stick to your favourite TV stars or food shows.
Leave the rest to professionals.
And sher a tug o' d'ail forelock to Mr Frlilly.. Sure wha? Gob poo,.
+1 Agreed.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Not to their own facts. What the Irish Times is doing is pursuing a narrative whereby opinion is in fact, fact. In otherwords, their narrative is the truth.
D'ya know what Get
No one is anonymous anymore
Dougie November 3, 2017 at 2:57 pm
I don't know about boycotting newspapers, but vigilance and calling out of pr, hidden agendas and hypocrisy needs to happen.
That said, it pains me that any time I buy a certain national paper based in my home city that I regard as an honest player, and is not in the INM stable, I'm contributing to Terry Prone's paycheck.
Zoella November 3, 2017 at 4:45 pm
scottser November 3, 2017 at 1:34 pm
good job frilly, i thoroughly enjoyed that.
Also, the internet was a slow moving boreen in 2008?
pfft, newbies. Try 98
I was kinda referring to when we started out
SDaedalus November 3, 2017 at 1:48 pm
Very good piece. Well said.
Fintan O'Toole, Rosita Boland, Pat Leahy, Diarmuid Ferriter, Kathy "Me Too" Sheridan, Peter Murtagh, Una Mullally… you honestly think there is a third party tugging at their sleeves? Tom Humphries… we all know one… says Fintan. No Fintan, but you and your colleagues definitely did and said nothing then and now.
therave November 4, 2017 at 12:57 pm
What about the news outlets and the Ballymaloe crowd, articles in the papers, TV shows etc and when you look back what Tim Allen did and was convicted of and people still support the Ballmaloe business, enthuse about it and the family who people are now gratefully giving their f'ing money too stood by this convicted man …. it was a chance for the public to vote with their pockets and stand up to child abuse but no the public and especially the likes of RTE and Irish Examiner still have these people on their talk shows and interviews and nobody asks them about why they stood by a man guilty of downloading child pornography…..
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