Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has warned his fellow politicians not to court "cheap publicity" by encouraging media intrusion into their private lives. He also maintained that the standard of political reporting in the Irish media was in decline.
Launching the book Showtime or Substance?by Irish Timescolumnist Noel Whelan, the Minister said that the media does not deal in complexity any more in its coverage of politics.
"Because of the pressure to produce headlines and increase circulation the truth is getting more shredded and distorted. The truth is becoming a casualty, not in politics, but in the reportage of politics," said Mr McDowell.
He appealed to the media to accord politicians a little dignity and not assume they were always actuated by base motives. "Getting elected is not a vice," he said.
The Minister also chided some of his fellow politicians for inviting the media into their private lives. "Politicians owe it to themselves to respect their own dignity and not to court cheap headlines," he said.
The Minister said Mr Whelan's pre-election book was a very valuable work. It was balanced and dealt with everything that was likely to become an issue over the next 90 days. "Noel Whelan is one of the most objective, fair-minded and decent observers of the Irish political scene," he said.
