Irish Language Newspaper for £10m anyone?

[LiamORaiste]

Apparently the Irish News, a Belfast based provincial newspaper, has expressed an interest in bidding for the contract for producing an Irish language news publication should the current holders of the Foras na Gaeilge contract, Lá Nua, decide to end publication on February 29. Lá Nua and Foras are locked in a seeming stalemate as the publishers, the Belfast Media Group, have sought £100,000 extra on top of their £200,000 per annum contract to publish to the end of the year. They claim that the ban on Irish language advertising by the north's Government departments had not been foreseen when the two year contract was signed at the beginning of December, 2006.

If £300,000 seems a lot for publishing a 16 page tabloid five days per week, however, it should pale into comparison as regards the Irish News offering.

Five years ago the Irish News bid £500,000 for a one year contract to produce a 16 page weekly inset in the paper. By that reckoning, and not putting inflation into the mix, the Irish News' bid could amount to £500,000 x5 for a Monday to Friday tabloid. That's £2.5m for one year and given that Foinse, the Conamara based weekly newspaper in Irish, has a four year contract, this could lead to a £10m contract for the Irish News. That's nice money if you can get it. (It's also taxpayers' money).

[diy01]

What's all this about?

Foras na Gaeilge the body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language on the island of Ireland has assured the National Union of Journalists that there is no threat to the current funding of the daily Irish language newspaper Lá Nua.

"...While it is appreciated that Foras na Gaeilge funding for the current year is not under threat a more long-term approach to the funding structure of Lá Nua is clearly needed.”

- Séamus Dooley, the Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists.


What does this actually mean?

[LiamORaiste]

It means that Foras na Gaeilge is NOT going to come to the aid of Lá Nua and is prepared to leave it die by strictly observing the contract and ignoring repeated requests for assistance which, according to Foras, would be 'breaching' the terms of the contract. The clock is ticking to February 29 when the paper goes under....

[diy01]

The part about funding for the current year (until the end of the year, I imagine?) is what threw me. Has there been any progress on your end since this story broke?