Television Villains - "Balance"

On Wednesday, Kevin Myers, filling in for Vincent Browne on Tonight with Vincent Browne, hosted a debate on climate change between some eminent scientists and some "concerned citizens" from an anti-climate change website. In the scientific world, the debate is generally considered to be over. Nowadays, to find people with objections to the concept of manmade climate change it's usually necessary to call in opportunists from the business community or citizens of the crazy-web. I'm not saying that those who disagree with the scientific consensus shouldn't be allowed express their opinions, just that when they are amateurs, it's spurious and misleading to keep including them on panel discussions for the sake of journalistic "balance". The anti-argument may still have points to score, but like Sinn Féin, the case against legalised contraception, or advocates of child labour, they're not representative enough to deserve the opportunity every bloody time .

Television Heroes - Cathal Goan

Cathal Goan, outgoing director general of RTé, is well liked. He has been applauded for cutting wages from the top down and has presided over a period when the station saw a recessionary downturn in its fortunes. That's all I know. So I'm going to applaud him based on my assumptions about his job. I assume he's the first in in the morning, opening up with a smile so that the Morning Ireland crew can get in. I assume he greets presenters after each show with a towel and some oranges. I assume he paints the sets, makes the tea, and writes the Fair City scripts. (It was his idea for Barry to have a beard!) I also assume he acts out all the telly programmes before they air using glove puppets, and that a door connects his office to that of Gay Byrne, the old boss of RTé. He also has access to a secret tunnel from Montrose which allows him drive his car onto the beach.