In praise of Irish newspapers

Been in Belfast all week working for one of my favourite papers, the excellent Irish News. Newspapers (along with the nightlife) are still vibrant on both sides of the border in Ireland. The Irish News is one of the few daily newspapers on these islands that sells more copies now than it did 15 year ago. It was also the first daily paper in the UK, despite the Guardian's claims, to adopt the Berliner format. It is now a compact that covers the big stories, such as the Saville Report and the church in crisis, in the most authoritative way. The paper was also in the vanguard of putting its content behind a paywall - perhaps one of the reasons why its sale has remained buoyant. If you want The Irish News's take on anything, and thousands of people in Northern Ireland do, you have to buy the paper. While in Belfast I also came across a slick marketing supplement by the Belfast Telegraph, now under the editorship of Mike Gilson, showing the range of first class front pages and campaigns that the paper has delivered. It oozes with confidence and self belief - something in short supply in too many newspapers these days. Over the border the Irish Examiner offers better Premier League coverage than most, if not all, UK papers. And the Evening Herald in Dublin has proved that outsourcing your entire production ... in its case to the South of France ... does not mean that the standard of subbing or headline writing is in anyway diminished. As this example clearly shows ... 

PS: The sun was also shining in Belfast all week and my Irish friends were enjoying the World Cup enormously ... not least the performances of France and England.