Lise Hand - political reporter or commentator

steelcityblues

Hard to gauge from this pathetic piece singling out one of member of the Dail, in a more personal, than political manner:

For a start the headline is: 'MegaphoneBarrett finally in with a shout', giving you a taste of what is it come:

Some quotes from the article: 'To date, Richard has presented a carefully-burnished image of a rowdy provocateur. Clad in his usual uniform of jeans and checked shirts, he looks a lot younger than his 44 years and his continuous interruptions during Dail sessions are often more reminiscent of the unruliness of student politics than of parliamentary debate.'

A thinly veiled attack on his appearance, rather than what he does or does not bring to the political table.

Further on:

But of course, his 'own people' are firmly from the middle classes, and his upbringing was a reflection of this; raised in Dun Laoghaire, his father worked as an accountant and his mother as a hairdresser (in 2007 it was revealed that his birth mother is actress Sinead Cusack) and he was educated in the exclusive fee-paying school, St Michael's College.

The assumption that he can't be a socialist politician, because of his middle-class roots.

And finally:

In the aftermath of those ugly scenes at NUIG, Richard deployed the hear-no-evil, see-no-evil strategy -- he had been further back in the protest and hadn't seen the ugly scuffles.

Suggesting that he is one person to blame for a few uncontrollable protesters last weekend in Galway.

Not a big fan of Boyd Barrett, or the socialists myself, but this is some serious anti-intellectual tripe, published in a 'serious' newspaper.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/lise-hand-megaphone-barrett-finally-in-with-a-shout-3083686.html

coylemj

She got it right with this one, RBB is a complete waste of space and he and a few of his ilk will be unceremonioulsy dumped out of the Dail in the next general election.

He does have a question to answer as to whether he was leading the protest at the Labour Ard Fheis from the rear or why did he choose not to witness the violence that took place? Either he was playng chicken at the rear or he just turned a blind eye to it.

What RBB chooses to ignore is that on the last count in the 2011 General Election in Dun Laoghaire, he, a radical perma-protestor picked up 62% of the surplus of Mary Mitchell O'Connor (FG) while Mary Hanafin (FF), a respectable middle-aged secondary school teacher got only 38%. In any other election the FG voters wouldn't touch someone like RBB but as we all know, the last election was like no other as far as FF was concerned.

The FG voters in DL won't be giving RBB any transfers next time around, especially when he, a member of Dail Eireann goes around telling people not to pay a tax that has been voted through by a democratically elected government.

No bandwagon or cause is unworthy of his support, including the ludicrous protest demanding that the 46A bus should continue to do a detour through Monkstown Farm to pick up 2 or 3 passengers thereby adding 10 minutes to the journey for everyone else, just one example where RBB cares more about publicity for himself than the rights or wrongs or a cause.

steelcityblues

At least you have wrote a much better criticism of him than Hand managed.

GSF

She is the sketch reporter. Its a common job in most UK & Ireland papers - Miriam Lord does it for The IT. Hand took over from her on the Indo when Lord defected.

In the UK you have a sketch reporter for all the broadsheets. Simon Hoggett in the Guardian, Matthew Paris in The Times.

It is supposed to be a light hearted review of the days main political set piece.

steelcityblues

GSF wrote: »

She is the sketch reporter. Its a common job in most UK & Ireland papers - Miriam Lord does it for The IT. Hand took over from her on the Indo when Lord defected.

In the UK you have a sketch reporter for all the broadsheets. Simon Hoggett in the Guardian, Matthew Paris in The Times.

It is supposed to be a light hearted review of the days main political set piece.

There is the columns section of the paper if she wants to write this stuff (and even then it is questionable).

This is not acceptable work for a 'reporter'.

GSF

steelcityblues wrote: »

There is the columns section of the paper if she wants to write this stuff (and even then it is questionable).

This is not acceptable work for a 'reporter'.

Its the way its done in nearly every broadsheet in the UK & Ireland so I've no idea why you are just picking on Lise Hand

steelcityblues

GSF wrote: »

Its the way its done in nearly every broadsheet in the UK & Ireland so I've no idea why you are just picking on Lise Hand

Because any time I have read the guys who write in the UK papers, they do so with a good level of wit and eloquence.

I was never a big fan of Hand before this piece, but this was basically a humourless and infantile attack on one individual throughout. A new low, IMO.

GSF

steelcityblues wrote: »

A new low, IMO.

These constant "new lows" that every day people complain about, would surely test the inventor of any scale of outrage measurement. Maybe people just need to relax a bit?

expectationlost

Miriam Lord is equally a waste of space.

GSF

expectationlost wrote: »

Miriam Lord is equally a waste of space.

I know quite a few people who buy the IT just to read her. Which, if you job is to sell copies of the IT, is probably a good thing.

expectationlost

GSF wrote: »

I know quite a few people who buy the IT just to read her. Which, if you job is to sell copies of the IT, is probably a good thing.

thing we could call them all snide reporters, not that they are actually reporters or journalists. especially with her its equal parts nide with sycophancy as she pretends to take the piss out of them