Shining a light on the dog fight

I go on a bit about how little the border matters in Ireland these days and how the commercial and cultural  boundaries between Britain and Ireland are reducing.

Now the dog fighting fraternity are in on the ‘New Ireland’ too. They are, according to an important piece of investigative journalism by the  BBC’s Mandy McCauley on Panorama and Northern Ireland’s Spotlight programmes,  running a vibrant ‘ sport’  with a considerable following. She has uncovered a complex network stretching from the arctic circle to the streets of Britain and Ireland and HQed here in Northern Ireland. Dog fighting was banned in Britain in 1835 and I suspect this has been so in the Republic of Ireland since independence.

I can’t get my head around this macabre spectacle nor can I understand why people would want to own an animal bred to kill. When Dublin city council banned a long list of potentially dangerous dogs from all council property it was dead right in my mind, although this may lead to legal challenges. It’s a pity that the Irish government has not moved to outlaw ‘dangerous dogs’ as the British government did with the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. As Ms McCauley has proved the South is the preferred import route for dangerous dogs into the UK and an easy place to host a not so pleasant dog show or two.

A little liverpudlean girl was killed this year by a pit bull and according to the RSPCA/USPCA it is only a matter of time before this happens again, all to satisfy the sick minds of a few sad people with a no moral compass and little respect for life, human or animal.

This story takes a bizarre turn next. One of Ireland’s well known Gaelic footballers, himself an all Ireland medal holder, is according to the BBC centrally involved in the organisation of illegal dog fighting along with an associate who has loyalist connections. Sad or what!

There are no clean hands in the world of dog fighting. The RSPCA is using public relations and public affairs to provoke public debate. It has certainly worked on me. The issues now is whether the British and Irish governments sit down together to tackle the trafficking, whether the Irish government will move to introduce legislation to outlaw these dogs and whether ordinary people everywhere in Britain and Ireland will demand these animals be removed from their communities. Last week a famous American football start, Michael Vick, was convicted and faces jail for his involvement in dog fighting.  Time will tell whether an Irish football star follows him.
 

NI most unconnected place in these islands

According to research out yesterday Northern Ireland is the most unconnected place in Europe with a mere 50% of households owning a PC even fewer online. Pass me the pen and paper Mary, only I would think it  a good idea to do my preaching online when the majority of my world are marching themselves down to the post box as.

 It’s a surprising statistic for two reasons. Firstly NI has a very good telecommunications infrastructure with a high level of broadband penetration and secondly because we are a young place with the bulk of our population the right side of 35.

The survey comes at a time when all the traditional media here are investing heavily in their online offering. This year saw the launch of IN TV and Belfast Telegraph TV both part of the Irish news and Belfast Telegraph respectively. The Newsletter has also totally revamped its website which is now quite good. BBC NI and UTV have also been innovating as has the independent radio sector which is now generally available online.

Like me they must be hopeful for an upturn in the old stats. Or as Denis Lowensky Wolinski (sorry about that mistake) , OFCOM’s man in the North, so aptly put it on BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra ’if you were standing with one foot in a bucket full of ice and the other in cosy warmth, you would be statistically comfortable’ great line Denis! 

OK! takes on US celebrity blogs

I posted last week about the decline in lad mag sales in these parts and how celebrity blogs and YouTube were capturing the gossip hungry and flesh crazy young men.

 The Sunday Times Business had an interesting piece on the US edition of OK! Magazine and its impressive young female editor, Sarah Ivens. Turns out she has grown sales of the celebrity gossip magazine by 54% in the last year establishing it as one of the leading weekly magazines in the US where they fill the gap traditionally occupied by the red tops in Britain and Ireland. Ivens claims to have readers not just on the east and west coasts but also in the mid west where Pop Idol is country and celebrities ride around in pick ups. But her real claim is to have mitigated the impact of the numerous celebrity gossip blogs doing so much damage to her more established competitors such as People, US Weekly or Star Magazine. Blogs like PerezHilton.com which come complete with its own ‘citizen paparrazi’ and gossip on just about everyone you could imagine (it broke the tragic death of Spanish footballer Antonio Puerta as fast as any sports site I checked). Or TMZ.com which reports, picture and all, that Amy Winehouse is not in rehab but toasting herself in the Carribean, although no mention of her father in law’s comments  reported widely in the mainstream media yesterday.

So from the man who secretly sneaks a monthly glance at the glossies respect to Ms Ivens and her small New York based team at OK!. Once a week is surely the right dose of hot gossip. Having this stuff online and in real time 24-7 is cannot be good for you. Or as Dr Paxman might say when criticising 24 hour news, there is no analysis….

Is it time to take Dr Paxman’s medicine

Having a very mad day today but wanted to note the Newsnight anchor’s lecture in Edinburgh last week which is extensively reported on in the Guardian Media.

I’ll try and return to this later as he raises interesting and important points.

Catching a child killer

The tragic death of you Rhys Jones has left these islands numb and wondering how teenagers turned into child killers.

Nothing will ever bring back this happy eleven year old. No words or actions will put his cheeky face back in his bed or life in his football jersey. But for all our sakes his killers must be caught. Police forces across Britain and Ireland are very good at using the media to help solve crimes and more often then not their PR efforts pay off with quality leads and convictions. Indeed they have expressed satisfaction at the response to appeals for information about the young Everton fan’s death. 

This killing has lifted the lid on gang culture in Liverpool complete with their own channels of communication, making full use of new media to spread their messages of control and fear. You Tube is their ‘newspaper’ and the video phone their ‘pen’. We could debate the ins and outs of whether it is right for a video sharing site like You Tube to be hosting gang propaganda and my view is that it is not. But right here, right now, there is an opportunity in the fact these gangs are networked online.

We know these kids watch each others videos. We know they like to post an online record of their bravado so why would the police not communicate back to them through their own media. The people who know who killed young Rhys are unlikely to open a paper this morning, but they will surf the net for savagery and underground info. PR is evolving and to reach certain audiences, PR professionals need to evolve too. The old days of process driven communications are ending and in their place, social and other networks are emerging to influence our lives and shape our thinking. This is something we have worked a lot on at Weber Shandwick and is why we are now defining our services in terms of advocacy.

You Tube could do the right thing and give British police online advertising space to hit back at the gangs. What about a pop up about young Rhys every-time a gang video was clicked, and every press conferences, every appeal should be on there too.  

Sunday Tribune let down

I am a loyal Sunday Tribune reader. It has done well to survive in the competitive world of the Irish Sunday dominated by O’Reilly titles and a plethora of GB spin offs. 

Today I am really not happy with the Baggott Street boys and girls through. Not because of the football analysis – as usual it was excellent. Just a pity the boys in blue could not squeeze another drop out of the tank to put a last minute goal by Kerry. In the end the Kingdom came and the Kingdom conquered leaving us Dubs to ponder until February. If it’s any consolation, and it is not, we served up one of the most dramatic games I have ever witnessed in the caldera of Croke Park. 

So no, I don’t blame the Trib for Dublin’s loss. I blame them for serving up a Sunday Tribune Magazine review of the top fifty restaurants in Ireland which does not include a single one in the North. Now I know the paper is not ‘partitionist’ and I know they know there are some outstanding eateries the other side of the border, that huge imaginary line you cross on the new motorway about an hour out of Dublin. Places like James Street South, Restaurant Michael Deane and Cayenne in Belfast. Or the wonderful Mourne Seafood Bar and the Buck’s Head in Dundrum, Co Down. Not to mention the Bushmills Inn which serves wonderful food in the shadow of the famous distillery.

I can only conclude they forgot they had Northern readers. Poor service boys and girls. Or should I say limp, tasteless, unimaginative and well overpriced.      

Summer what summer?

You’d feel sorry for the kids heading back to school after the summer, or should it be no summer holidays, and its been no different in the world of communications.

Traditionally July and August was the silly season with non stories dominating the headlines and little or no business or political activity. You could look forward to the Big Brother show down (yes it is still on Channel 4), the Rose of Tralee  (apparently figures went through the floor – but that’s just a rumor) and lots of Princess Di sunbathing – its hard to believe she is ten years dead. Much less so these days. Think about August;

- Aer Lingus – Belfast – Shannon

It has it all. Great business story, all island reach, political and with legs that could finish you a marathon in record time.

- Foot and Mouth Disease

Never an issue to miss the target and hit the wall. The agrifood sector on these islands is still important enough to bring the country to a stop. Thankfully swift government action in Britain and an all island policy on animal health kept this one in the news and out of our farms.

- Corporation tax in Northern Ireland

This has rumbled on at a high pace all summer, making regular appearances in the business news. The campaigners are right. NI should be allowed harmonise it’s corporation tax rate with the south and I suspect the pressure will build on the British Government when politics resumes in September.

- Floods, floods, floods

Water, water everywhere and governments found lacking in their response on more than one occasion. The sights of cut off communities all over Britain and more than our own fare share of flash flooding in Ireland, kept this story of potentially biblical proportions to the front pages this long wet summer. It had biggest political impact in Britain where a PR stunt backfired badly on David Cameron who chose to travel to Africa leaving his constituents up to their oxters in flood water. Proof that all publicity is not good publicity.

- Multicultural Ireland

The Garda turban row is far from over. Getting this one right should be a priority for the government. Perceptions matter.

- Goodbye to the UDA?

Margaret Ritchie, the North’s only SDLP Minister, faced down the UDA after several night’s rioting in Bangor and Carrickfergus. The clock is ticking on a sixty day deadline for decommissioning.   She was right to move on them but will need the support of her executive colleagues if tough decisions are to be taken. Meanwhile the debate continues in the northern press.

- A labour leadership battle

Now that will be fun. The Rabbitte is out of the hat and by November we will have a new face on the election posters. Great bit of political news to keep us all on our toes.

 So us PR and PA types no longer get to spend the summer in Andalucia working on our next novel and the politicians wouldn’t want to go too far either what with global warming, the odd paramilitary and trade unions to contend with.

 This blog started 10 days ago. There has been plenty to write about in that short space of time. The biggest story is today of course. Dublin - Kerry, Kerry – Dublin. ’Stop Conall. These people have lives and you do go on a bit…’ She’s right. I’ll never mention it again…. unless we win! 

Sports report

Last night Belfast witnessed the Irish Rugby team at Ravenhill for the first time in 53 years. A balmy evening was the perfect welcome for the visiting Italians who, to be honest,  gave a much better account of themselves than Ireland. We squeezed a victory in the last minute after a try that could have been as easily disallowed. My good friend Garth Earls, John Rodgers and his brother in law Davy soaked it all up in true Ulster form and the craic was great. Even the announcer got carried away with the occasion introducing two Irish subs as coming on for Ulster! Lets hope its not another fifty years till we see the boys in green back on winning form up North.

Off to Dublin tomorrow for the epic that is Dublin and Kerry. Like sausages and mash, bacon and cabbage, beer and me, Dublin – Kerry were made to go together. Its a tough one to call but the word on the terrace at Ravenhill from those fans who follow the round ball as well as the oval is that Kerry are stretched. Not long to wait now. Oisin has just arrived in with our shirts from the washing basket. Off to do my duty for the boys in blue!

Labour after Rabbitte

Its going to be a long few months for the party on this island that most likes to debate. If the last internal election is anything to go by the prospective leader can look forward to months of small town meetings, cold tea and endless talking.

Last time around the Labour Party made a big mistake by fighting an internal election on external electoral strategy. Pat Rabbitte and his ‘anyone but Fianna Fail‘ message won through with a solid majority. Over the following four years he worked hard to build an alternative government around the so called Mulligar Accord with Fine Gael.

Pat Rabbitte is a gifted orator and was an energetic leader. He deserves praise for making a plan and  sticking to it. Unfortunately for him it wasn’t a plan that benefited the Labour Party and so like all political careers his leadership ends in failure.

The positioning will start soon for the new leader. Brendan Howlin will undoubtedly be in the race as will Eamon Gilmore. If he chooses to stand Howlin could expect strong support from the grass roots. Gilmore might suffer from his Democratic Left ancestry which he shares with Pat Rabbitte. Should Howlin decide not to run, the word on O’Conall Street is look out for the left bank of the Liffey TD, Joan Burton. Her rise has been steady and her apprentiship hard but it may well be the Labour Party turns to a proven fighter with a head for policy and an eye for the future.

Time will tell. For now all the Labour Party can say to Pat Rabbitte is thanks, good luck and good night.

To read Pat Rabbitte’s statement in full click here.

Rabbitte to resign as Irish Labour Party Leader

RTE is reporting that Irish Labour Party Leader, Pat Rabbitte, is to resign at 3.30pm today, bringing to an end nearly five years in charge.

Mr Rabbitte has been under internal pressure since the spring general election in the South and a poor showing by the Labour Party after entering an electoral pact with the main opposition party Fine Gael.

More later.