BishopAccountability.org
	Oireachtas Needs to Scrutinise Journalistic Ethics and Attitudes By Rónán Mullen Irish Catholic November 24, 2011 http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/oireachtas-needs-scrutinise-journalistic-ethics-and-attitudes RTÉ should now be called before the Oireachtasto give afull accountof the FrReynoldsdefamation case, writes SenatorRónánMullen Thankfully for Fr Kevin Reynolds, his ordeal is over. But let's not imagine that his trauma is fully ended. The parish priest of Ahascragh is cheerful and optimistic, and the things that sustained him most in recent months -- faith, family and friends -- will see him through now. But the pain he endured won't disappear overnight. What happened was too serious for that. His life was nearly destroyed by our national public service broadcaster. Imagine if there hadn't been the means of defending his good name through a paternity test. He might have been a despised and broken man by now, and some RTÉ journalists might have been collecting an award somewhere for having made a ground-breaking documentary. That's why this court settlement doesn't actually settle the matter. It may address, in some way, the wrong done to Fr Reynolds. But it doesn't deal with the major public interest problem that has been exposed. RTÉ's massive power nearly destroyed a man. This is serious. It's time for accountability and reform. So the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications has an important mission, should it choose to accept it. The personnel involved in the Fr Reynolds case, and related personnel, should be invited: (i) to explain the actions taken in the case; (ii) to answer any questions which arise about issues of management and oversight in RTÉ, journalistic standards and ethics within the organisation, and any particular attitudes and values which may have given rise to the Fr Reynolds case; (iii) to discuss with the committee what actions now need to be taken to protect the high standards desired both by RTÉ and by the public it serves. The committee should give particular consideration to the issue of appropriate sanctions where unlawful, unethical, reckless or negligent behaviour occurs, having regard to RTÉ's public service mandate and to the implications for the public purse of awards such as those made in the Fr Reynolds case. And the committee should consider whether any legislation is necessary in this area. Those who should come before the committee include RTÉ's director general, Noel Curran, the chairman of the RTÉ board, Tom Savage, the managing director of news and current affairs at RTÉ, Ed Mulhall and RTÉ Prime Time reporter, Aoife Kavanagh. Management We also need to hear from academic and other experts on journalism, including senior practitioners and those engaged in the academic formation of journalists in Irish third-level institutions. The committee should invite persons with previous experience of journalism and management in RTÉ and representatives of other media. And we need to hear from some of the groups and individuals who may be affected. There are two main issues to be explored in the wake of the Fr Reynolds case -- the managerial culture in RTÉ and possible problems in the broadcaster's attitude to the Catholic Church and its personnel. After last week's settlement of the Fr Reynolds action, RTÉ's head of corporate communications, Kevin Dawson, appeared to rule out the possibility of any dismissals resulting from the defamatory broadcast. Whatever about the ultimate appropriateness of dismissals in this case, it seems inappropriate to rule out sanctions before any thorough investigation and without reference to any disciplinary process. RTÉ personnel seem to be doing the very thing that journalists have often accused others of doing - avoiding personal responsibility and hiding behind their institution. Neither in the apology broadcast by RTÉ in October, or in its communications since, has there been any joining in personal regret by any of the protagonists in the Fr Reynolds case. And while Ryan Tubridy was once door-stepped and asked about taking a cut in his salary, I am not aware that the RTE¨ personnel responsible for Fr Kevin Reynolds' suffering have had microphones placed under their chins to get their personal reflections. Apart from RTÉ managerial issues, the Oireachtas committee should also enquire whether the treatment of Fr Reynolds had anything to do with the fact that he was a priest. A recent poll by Amarach Consulting found that a very substantial proportion of the public greatly overestimate the number of Catholic clergy who are guilty of child abuse. Forty-two per cent of respondents estimated the number of guilty clergy to be in excess of 20pc and of those 17pc estimated that 50pc or more of clergy were guilty. The most authoritative estimate to date, conducted in the United States by the John Jay College of Criminal Studies, puts the true number of accused as distinct from guilty priests at 4pc. If it wasn't for The Iona Institute, we would not have this vital information to hand this week. And people might think that what happened to Fr Kevin Reynolds could as easily have happened to a High Court judge or to the director general of RTÉ. Misinformation But now, we must ask questions. Was misinformation about the incidence of clerical sexual abuse a factor in the decisions taken by RTÉ in the Fr Reynolds case? Was the presumption of innocence that should be enjoyed by all citizens replaced by a presumption of guilt in the case of priests? Is this why Prime Time was so ready to believe Fr Reynolds was guilty? Or are the decisions taken by RTÉ in the Fr Reynolds case reflective of attitudes of prejudice and hostility towards the Catholic Church and its clergy within the national broadcaster and in the wider media? If they are, have such attitudes contributed to misinformation about the true incidence of sexual abuse by clergy and to possible prejudice as a consequence against the Catholic Church and its clergy within Irish society? Taking all these questions together we might ask: Did RTÉ contribute to a culture of contempt towards the Catholic Church and its clergy and did its own journalists and ultimately Fr Reynolds fall prey to that culture of contempt? The answers to these questions should not be prejudged. But in the light of what happened to Fr Reynolds, and the duty of fairness and impartiality owed to all institutions and individuals in our society, there is a serious public interest in asking them.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.