the story of my argument with geraldine kennedy

On her retirement as editor of The Irish Times this week, Geraldine Kennedy made some remarks. My own comments are interposed

***

Geraldine Kennedy: "Journalists must always be aware of their role to serve the public's right to know."

James Healy: "Has the public any right to know whether KGB agents ran your newspaper during the Cold War? Has the public a right to know whether one of your staffers drew up a list for the KGB of Irish journalists to be detained as class enemies at some time in the future when Russian Communists would presumably have taken over Ireland? Has the public a right to know whether Communist agents running your newspaper after the Cold War simply reconstituted themselves as Atheistic Humanists and continued to foster and promulgate a culture war against the Catholic Church? Has the public a right to know any of this? How dare you speak of a right to know? How dare you prance and preen in plain view speaking of the public's right to know when you have colluded so arrantly in the concealment of the truth about sex abuse, namely that 999 out of every thousand victims are abused by their own family and near relatives? How dare you lie to the general public about sex abuse? How dare you elevate a tiny minority of sex abuse victims over all the rest simply to press home your vile mendacious bigotries about the Catholic Church? How... dare.... you... Madam?"

***

Geraldine Kennedy: "The most difficult  challenge as editor was the internal and external threats to our journalism. They range from the mundane, such as operating within our diminishing means, which is hugely challenging in the current economic and internet climate, to the daily and incessant demand from diverse interests to control our editorial content.

James Healy: "That's a bit of a stretcher babe. Who were these mysterious figures trying to control your newspaper? If not your old handlers at the KGB? I certainly never wanted to control your editorial content. Although I see nothing wrong in subjecting you to a modicum of due scrutiny. I was always sure your hidden atheistic agendas would put you out of business unless our corrupt governments forced the citizenry to bail you out. As for the economic climate and your attempts to cope, well done! You managed to pay yourself 400,000 dollars a year even while The Irish Times was losing a hundred million a year under your watch. That's some coping right there. Well done to Medbh Donovan your Managing Director who was paying herself the same amount at precisely the same time. I hate to think what you'd have paid yourselves if the paper was actually making a profit.

***

Geraldine Kennedy: "I know there are those inside and outside The Irish Times who found me awkward, exacting about our verification processes, keenly aware of our responsibility given our influence - but the guiding light for meme was to produce an independent quality newspaper."

James Healy: "Oh come on. We never found you any of those things. You were just another anti Christian atheistic abortionist contrareceiving divorcenik crypto marxist islamist appeaser in a long line of such scruff holding court at The Irish Times. You were the ultimate conformist Geraldine Kennedy in an age of conformity. If everyone in the room is an anti Catholic Nazi, there's nothing too brave about being an anti Catholic Nazi.. For the past fifty years, you and your coterie of pseudo radicals have waxed fat on your own idolotrous egotism. In the abortion age you sang loud the abortion song. And you bust your own newspaper. It's gone.You squeezed out an extra few years on borrowings from idiot banks and improperly placed public funds from Health Board advertising. And yeah, you continued to pay yourself and Medbh Dunnywax half million dollar salaries while your newspaper was haemhorraging a hundred million a year. Now finally the bottom has dropped out. You've no readers. The banks have collapsed because they gave so much free money to worthless smooth talking leftist incompetents like you. Nice accent. Shame about the lack of basic human principles, and, er, journalistic skills. And there's nothing left. Unless you once more con the Irish government into financing you with my money. But ah. That's another story."