The balance was right, almost

I WISH to comment on the presentation of the article by Jimmy Woulfe, headlined ‘City centre scores €5m in rugby spending spree’ (Irish Examiner, January 22).

It detailed how Limerick not only enjoyed the spin-off benefits from the Heineken Cup rugby game there on January 20, but also referred to the many improvements taking place in the city at present.

It was great to see a newspaper finally giving the city the credit and type of coverage that has been long overdue, and the comprehensive article detailed the spectacular rejuvenation that has occurred in recent years, as well as the developments — actual and planned — that will improve the city even further.

Considering the fascination that some sections of the media seem to have with highlighting and exaggerating a tiny minority of events and individuals in the city, the article was a breath of fresh air, and the Examiner should be congratulated in this regard.

There is, however, one issue with the presentation of the article.

Since it was one of the few in which the city got a favourable hearing, with not one skewed statistic, no bad news or prejudicial opinion, and none of the usual tabloid rubbish that seems regularly to accompany news about Limerick, why did you deem it necessary to add the sub-headline: “Munster magic a boost to business but ‘image problem’ remains.”

There was no reference or comment within the article on which to base such a headline.

The only possible reference to anything negative was the quote from Maria Kelly of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce that “there has to be something other than a negative image”.

If you examined that single comment, she was merely saying there is another image: here it is, it exists and it’s real.

By working this single throwaway comment into the sub-heading, the Irish Examiner somehow managed to focus yet again on the negative, despite the article’s fair and balanced content.

The ‘other image’ that both Ms Kelly and the article highlighted would not be so urgently required were people not constantly reminded of the perceived negative image.

Ironically, the thinking that resulted in the inclusion of that sub-heading represents the precise reason that such articles are required.

Liam Byrne

Alandale Hall

South Circular Road

Limerick.