Sir, – I refer to an article by Vincent Browne (Opinion, August 14th) headed “O’Brien should be confronted regularly by the Moriarty report”.
I am one of Mr Browne’s kick around subjects when he simply cannot be bothered to originate a new topic for readers. For the record, he has written six columns relating to me which are chronically repetitive.
He refers to his indebtedness to me as if to display just how objective and balanced he is. However, the truth is rather different.
There is one highly significant matter which Mr Browne has never made public in any of his columns for The Irish Times (or indeed elsewhere) and that is his eagerness to leave RTÉ and join Newstalk in 2007.
As always, with anything to do with Mr Browne, negotiations were fraught and certainly did not go according to his plan. His “offer” to join the station to go head to head with Pat Kenny was not accepted and I believe that since then he has persistently set out to settle a score.
He has very deliberately withheld this information on every occasion he has written about me and my media interests. Yet he repeats his indebtedness for “bringing me into broadcasting”. But the inconvenient truth is never mentioned.
Your newspaper owes it to its readers to be balanced, objective and fair. In this regard you should inform your readers of the main motivator that drives Mr Browne to such relentless repetition about matters relating to me.
I can only assume that Mr Browne has put The Irish Times in possession of all the facts relating to his failed courtship of Newstalk?
If not, he is practising very questionable journalism. – Yours, etc,
DENIS O’BRIEN,
Grand Canal Quay,
Dublin 2.