Brian Lenihan – cearta.ie

This image, by Corey Seeman on Flickr, is the Monument to your Future Collaborators, on the pavement outside the Knight Management Center in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where Brian Cowen attended the Executive Education Programme last Summer. Cowen probably walked past it, if not over it, several times. But he now says that his attendance at that course was a private matter, and it seems he intends to complain to the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman that newspaper articles about it invaded his privacy. In my earlier post, I know what you did last Summer, Mr Cowen (also here), I was not very sanguine about his chances. However, on his recently-started media law blog, MediaBelf, Jonathan McCully has taken me to task on this. In his post The Prime Minister who went to America to learn how to be a leader (also here) he makes a compelling case the other way.

One of his key points is that Cowen is no longer a public figure: “It is difficult to connect information relating to Mr. Cowen’s college activities, such as eating lunch and attending lectures, with the validity of what he had done in public office”.…

Do I hear drumbeats for privacy legislation?

17 January, 201130 January, 2011

| 2 Comments

| Privacy

And they’ll just put you in the spotlight
And hope that you’ll do alright
Or maybe not

Now why do you wanna go
and put starz in their eyes?
Why do you wanna go
and put starz in their eyes?

Just Jack, Starz in Their Eyes

Drumbeats for privacy protection in the face of press intrusion are most often raised by politicians and celebrities. The Economist recently reported that the age at which celebrities become famous is dropping, at the expense of ultimately shorter spells in the limelight. Just Jack’s astringent Starz in the Eyes (above) reflects on the often immense price of fleeting fame: one reason certainly is a hungry media pandering to the public’s interest in celebrities and their lifestyles. For example, much of the coverage of the aftermath of the death of Irish tv and radio personality Gerry Ryan concentrated on his drug taking during his career and in the lead-up to his sudden and untimely death.

Hot Press cover, 26 Jan 2011, featuring Brian O'Driscoll, via their site Referring to this in a wide-ranging interview featured on the cover of the current issue of Hot Press magazine (cover, right), rugby star Brian O’Driscoll said:

I thought some of the coverage relating to his death was absolutely disgusting … I don’t feel as if the toxicology report should be made public knowledge.

…

Cork privacy seminar discussed TV3’s Lenihan revelations

16 January, 201010 December, 2012

| 5 Comments

| Irish Society, Press Council, Privacy

Today’s Irish Times carries two interesting interlinked reports. The first is about yesterday’s Press Council seminar in Cork, the second is about TV3’s exposure of Brian Lenihan’s illness, which – unsurprisingly – was one of the issues discussed at the seminar.

First, yesterday’s seminar in Cork:

Media’s role vital to liberty, says Dunne

Freedom would mean less without a free media, entrepreneur Ben Dunne told a seminar organised in Cork yesterday by the Press Council of Ireland. … He condemned the broadcast of the Brian Lenihan story on TV3 on December 26th, saying that it “crossed a line it did not need to cross”. However, he added that TV3 was not the only offender in relation to breaches of privacy.

Another speaker, Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes, told the seminar that the phenomenal development of the internet posed challenges to traditional ideas of privacy and data protection. …

Tightening privacy laws is a recipe for “non-accountability, secrecy and duplicity”, the seminar was told by Paul Drury, managing editor of the Irish Daily Mail, who added that he was wary of any proposal to legislate for heightened privacy.

Paul Drury will be very well aware that TV3’s revelations of Brian Lenihan’s illness could make privacy legislation more likely, even though the Minister himself seems remarkably phlegmatic about it:

Lenihan says he was rushed into telling children about cancer

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has told a local newspaper [the Community Voice newspaper in Blanchardstown] he was rushed into telling his children about his cancer diagnosis on St Stephen’s Day because TV3 had decided to run the story.

…

And so it continues

31 December, 200931 December, 2009

| 2 Comments

| Irish Society, Privacy

In today’s Irish Times, Mary Minihan writes:

Complaints to BAI over TV3 cancer disclosure

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has received 70 e-mails complaining about the TV3 news broadcast on St Stephen’s Day disclosing the cancer diagnosis of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan. …

Meanwhile, Minster for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said she and her Government colleagues were “appalled” at the way the story was disclosed. …

…

And so it begins, with dreary predictability

30 December, 200931 December, 2009

| 1 Comment

| Irish Society, Privacy

Thumbnail of today's Irish Times front page, via Irish Times site You read it here first folks. Now, in today’s Irish Times, Michael Foley (School of Media, DIT) writes:

Lenihan broadcast could lead to privacy law rethink

ANALYSIS: TV3 had no more than a rumour about Brian Lenihan’s health, and no attributable source. …

Unlike journalists, politicians like rules, and the Minister for Justice has already warned he will revisit his privacy proposals if the media does not behave. The insensitive invasion of a popular politician’s privacy might be just the example he needs.

Expect to see lots of references to this piece as the clamour for privacy legislation begins to grow.

Update: have a look at John McGurk‘s thoughtful posts on the issue.…

Will privacy legislation follow TV3’s disclosure of Brian Lenihan’s illness?

28 December, 200931 December, 2009

| 10 Comments

| Irish Society, Privacy

TV3 News logo, via TV3 website Joe Ryan wrote both an interesting comment on this morning’s post and a great post about the issue on his own blog. My reply to him became too long for a comment, so I’ve upgraded it to this post.

First, I should say that I worked with Brian Lenihan for a few years in TCD, and my thoughts and best wishes are with him and his family at this difficult time. It may be a cliché, but it’s nonetheless true for all that, and I hope he returns to rude good health as quickly as possible.

Second, as TJ McIntyre and Jason Walsh argue, Brian’s illness must be a prime example of a public interest in disclosure. On the other hand, Jim Tormey argues that it is a legitimate matter of public interest only when Brian finds or it appears obvious that he cannot do his job. This is a strong argument, and even some who are wary of overbearing privacy laws are discomfited by TV3’s insensitivity and lack of self-restraint. In the circumstances, I think that Brian showed great restraint in not seeking an injunction to prevent TV3’s broadcast, and I agree with Joe (and with Myles Duffy on The Crimson Observer) that, if Brian chooses to make an issue of it, the matter should go to the recently-fully-established Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).…

A side-effect of disclosing a Minister’s illness?

28 December, 200931 December, 2009

| 5 Comments

| Irish Society, Privacy

TV3 logo, via their site There has been much comment over the weekend about TV3‘s disclosure of the serious illness with which Brian Lenihan, Minister for Finance, has recently been diagnosed. This poses many questions, but I want to ask only one: will the public anger at TV3’s disclosure provide the political impetus – or perhaps simply political cover – to proceed with the enactment of the (misconceived) Privacy Bill, 2006?…