Capturing the real Ireland

mariaalice

This is possibly a bit ranty. :)

After listening to a discussion re the perennial trolly crises and those who are blocking beds in hospitals because they have nowhere to go.

The media person, the HSE person, and some other mid-management type all said one of the big issues is more and more women are working!!! how can that be a surprise or even an issue for discussion in 2023 and how on earth could public policy be based on the idea that there will be women not in the paid workforce who provide care for relatives? The other thing that struck me about the discussion was that two of the panelists were female in mid-management jobs.

Listening to a discussion about radio the implication seemed to be that it was 'housewives' who listened to the radio during the day. I don't know one woman who does not have a job of one sort or another who are these 'housewives'

It is the same with other media look at the content of the Irish Times v the Sunday Times.

How come we are so poorly served by the media/journalists in Ireland? and the depth and breadth of public policy is similarly poor.

z80CPU

My two cents

On RTE radio

DriveTime , supposedly a "News Program" is becoming more like the Brendan O'Connor show.

'Job for life' for Cormac Sarah and Brendan.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517403#Comment_121517403

I have changed how I consume radio, I use the listen back function and only engage with articles that interest me, so I avoid any whiney mental health-type pieces unless it has a medical focus or anything similar, I also tend to avoid any 'unemployment' is up .000001% its a disaster!!!!! pierces. I am considering ditching the Saturday Irish Times for the Sunday Times on the fence about that one for the moment.

How come it is all psychotherapists and not psychiatrists when discussing mental health and its commentators instead of serious economists when discussing the economy?

I have a bit of theory about what is happening.

As Ireland is changing very rapidly, official Ireland, which the media is part of has doubled down on a fantasy of a rural conservative audience or housewife mamany's who are at home making dinners, plus a little bit of floundering around 'young peoples' issue as their audience.

There seems to be no intellectual depth to anything.

As for the public policy issue of who provides care, two midmanagement women talking about 'other women' working as an issue in the provision of care is astounding again no insight or intellectual depth.

Brussels Sprout

I stopped listening to the radio years ago. Podcasts all the way.

I mostly listen to politics/current affairs ones too so it's not like you need to listen to the radio to keep up to date with what is going on in the world.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517920#Comment_121517920

Yep, tend to listen to music in morning. Occasionally listen to morning Ireland or Claire Byrne if something big is in news locally.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121517920#Comment_121517920

The issue with that is only selecting what side of the argument you want to listen to at least with public services media there is somewhat of a balance because they have to be somewhat balanced.

Del2005

It is true though. When I was growing up most women worked in the home and there was no such thing as play school or creche. So the woman while looking after the home and children also got stuck with looking after elderly or sick relatives.

Now women are working outside the home so there is no free labour to look after elderly or sick relatives.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121519902#Comment_121519902

Depends on what you choose to listen to really. Obviously if you're listening to partisan political podcasts then you're only going to get one side of the argument.