I was all set to write an article today on the government’s belated decision to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank.
Before writing, I decided to check what RTÉ had to say about the story.
Nationalisation has been inevitable since the bailout consensus broke down yesterday, when Fine Gael said it would vote against the government recapitalisation plan, putting clear blue water between the major parties on a touchstone economic issue.
Then, just after the news began, a plane took off from La Guardia airport and crashed into the Hudson river.
Initial reports are that all passengers survived.
RTÉ responded quickly to the breaking news, going to Charlie Bird, newly installed as Washington correspondent.
Sitting in front of a photograph of the White House, so we would know where he was, Charlie was able within minutes to tell us what he was watching on CNN.
Yesterday, I grumbled at the cost of replacing a handful of Irish language signs in a Donegal Gaeltacht, when a change in road rules would have been cheaper.
So how much did it cost to set up a short notice satellite link to Washington to tell us what a newsreader could have said equally well in Dublin?
