Comments on: Eamon Ryan bullshits on Newstalk while Karlin turns into DCMNR apologist

By: Damien Mulley » Blog Archive » Open Letter to Karlin Lillington and a challenge

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:51:21 +0000

[...] I am the clueless whinger you are talking about in your latest blog post. You seem upset that I called you an apologist recently on this blog: Fortunately there are people who have a far more nuanced understanding of [...]

By: John McCormac

John McCormac — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:42:35 +0000

Damien,
I don’t generally write for mainstream publications – the only thing I deal with now is the domain name industry. I’ve long since given up technical journalism and I don’t teach tech journalism.

As for pointing out the flaws of Irish technology journalists, it just came down to two things: they had a lack of indepth technical knowledge and they took the easy route of just recycling press releases. They were just adjuncts of the public relations industry. Some have given up the pretence of being journalists and joined public relations firms.

You spent the last few years running Ireland Offline. That would have given you an insight into the market and the issues. You seem to know more about it than the Minister and Karlin. So why don’t you write about it? Or are you just the token blogger bought in for credibility?

So why don’t you want to write about a topic on which you obviously have some expertise? After all, you have your op-ed column in the Sunday Tribune and you have the bones of a good article.

As for awards, there is only one award for real journalism – readership. That is the only true validation of the craft.

By: Damien

Damien — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:45:47 +0000

So you won’t take up my challenge and show us all how to be a proper journalist? Ah go on John, you’ve spent the past ten years skulking around on mailing lists pointing out all the flaws of Irish Journalists, come on, money where your mouth is time, accept your own dare and write that article. C’mon John. Write it. Get on to Ryan and Karlin. You might even win an award that you’d be proud to accept. If you want help getting it into a mainstream publication, give me a shout, though I think your own online publication is just as good.

By: OneForTheRoad

OneForTheRoad — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:41:44 +0000

tenner on the Mullenator.

I;ve never heard of this other chump.

By: Evert

Evert — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:32:07 +0000

Fight, fight!!

By: John McCormac

John McCormac — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:27:36 +0000

That’s where you are wrong Damien. I never called myself a technology journalist. And the fame that I apparently achieved was for writing about technology rather than merely having a sequence of hissy fits.

You are the one with an op-ed column in the Sunday Tribune. You have more knowledge of this particular topic than others and could ask the right questions. So why don’t you act like a journalist, ask them and write about it?

Has the lack of broadband ceased to be of concern? Or are you just a token blogger given a newspaper column designed purely to bolster falling reader figures?

By: Damien

Damien — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:01:20 +0000

John, as the self proclaimed only proper technology journalist in the country and someone who achieved worldwide fame for five seconds about a decade ago, I think you would be the better person to do something on this for your publication. Show me and all the other people you claim to be clueless press release recyclers how it should be done. Make us proud John, make us proud.

By: John McCormac

John McCormac — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:36:10 +0000

Ennis was a Potemkin Village designed to cover up the pathetic TE/eircom management and non-existent rollout of broadband.

Instead of whinging about the injustice of it all Damien, why don’t you ask the Minister and Karlin why they said what they said and then write about it in the Sunday Tribune. After all you are a technology journalist too.

By: Twenty Major

Twenty Major — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:46:43 +0000

I listened to that actually.

“We were hoping to have speeds of 5 or 6mb by now!”, he says.

Good for you. While the rest of the civilised world is offering 20mb packages for sweet fuck all we get bent over and ridden time and time again.

By: Mark Waters

Mark Waters — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:22:04 +0000

I tuned out of the interview when I heard Ryan say something like “we have 90% coverage but within that 90% area there are some places that you can’t get broadband”. Then I knew it was a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

It seems Ennis was the victim of a cheap marketing campaign by eircom.