Blogging from the Bog

   The established media, beginning with print journalism, seems to be very lazy in their reporting.  Often times you’ll see the same photos dominating the front pages of competing newspapers with nearly the same messages from these hacks.  Then every channel on the radio news regurgitates it over and over and then the talk shows have a go, and finally it ends up on the Six O’clock.  Whether correctly or incorrectly reported in the first instance, it is a license to chin wag all day long because in the end the paper will take the hit for error, because everyone else just re-tells what’s in the papers today. 

   How droll and mundane.  The only news that gets reported are the stories that come to the papers, there are no journalists anymore that go out looking for news.  The importance of blogging during the recent election was mooted by Damien Mulley and that idea could be developed further into all news reporting.  Why shouldn’t bloggers get the scoops?

   There is plenty of news out there to go around I should think, though it would take some looking and digging unless you happened upon it by chance.  Not every story would be headlined on the evening news but I suspect there are more enthusiastic bloggers out there than reporters.

   As an instance, I was struck by the amount of EPA Prosecutions that have occured in Cavan in the last few years.  Both Limited Companies and individuals have been successfully brought to court and have been fined for violations, some are repeat offenders and County Cavan has just over 16% of the total.  What’s up with that?

   On the fifth of February this year Liffey Meats (Cavan) Ltd., who received licensing in April 1998, were successfully prosecuted for the fifth time and the fine this time was for contaminating waterways and cost them €14,987.  Five prosecutions in less than 9 years? is that news worthy?  If you lived in Ballyjamesduff or near Lough Sheelin you might think so, if you drink water from public supplies you might be interested, if water quality is of any concern you may wonder: how bad and where else?  There were 10 violations in Cavan since 2004 out of 61 for the entire country.  What’s going on up there?