Section 31 gag and other media censorship fuels political unrest
Sunday April 03 2005
That gag long distorted coverage of Northern Ireland, banning radio and TV interviews with members of Sinn Fein and other listed organisations. Arguably, the ban fuelled violent frustration inbesieged Catholic ghettos.
Authors of pieces in the book include Conor Cruise O'Brien, one of the strongest supporters of Section 31, and Roy Greenslade, a leading British media commentator, and myself. Among other contributors are Helen Shaw, the former RTE Director of Radio, and Ed Moloney, a widely respected journalist.
The ban had its supporters across the political spectrum. They included members of the Workers' Party employed at RTE. Some of the ban's supporters appeared to believe that journalism is principally a form of politics, and that ideology is more important than fairness. They regarded objectors to Section 31 as, at best, naive.
Concepts such as "professionalism", "objectivity" and even "truth" are sometimes dismissed by leftist critics as "bourgeois" constructs. But it was not mainly leftists who kept the ban in place. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael together ensured that broadcasting censorship was maintained for years.
In my view, a good journalist should be sceptical about all political groups and ideologies, and put the public ahead of any other interest group. For so long as political parties are not banned from the political process itself, they should not be banned from the media.
At a time when Sinn Fein is bearing the brunt of public anger (for good reasons), it is again important not to ignore the opinions of those whom that party represents. By refusing to hear their grievances, we may play into the hands of those on both sides of the political or class divide who benefit from the continuing injustice. The new book features a large close-up of Gerry Adams on its ugly cover.
No single contributor to this book could agree with everything said in it. But as Ed Moloney writes, in the context of Northern Ireland "the use of media censorship is rarely mentioned or assigned the importance it deserves". A book like this was overdue.
Political censorship and the Democratic State: The Irish Broadcasting Ban is edited by Mary Corcoran, a senior lecturer in sociology at UCD, and Mark O'Brien, who teaches in DCU, where I also lecture.
- Colum Kenny
