My Media - Iarla Mongey
31 March 09
Newspapers
As part of my job I scan all the main papers to get a flavour of what's happening on any one day, but my paper of choice would be The Irish Times. I think the Irish Examiner is very under-rated, there's an element of snobbery around it that's unfair. In terms of writers, I think Miriam Lord is unmissable, she is probably the best thing in print. I read a lot of political coverage, there's good political analysis across the board. Stephen Collins is very good in the Irish Times. And I like a bit of something light and different in the form of Ross O'Carroll Kelly. I think the weekend Financial Times is a great read. My Sunday papers of choice are the Sunday Times or the Sunday Business Post.
Magazines
I'm not mad into magazines or supplements in any great way. I like the news review in The Sunday Times, it's an interesting read. I always read the Phoenix but the Phoenix is like advertising, only a certain amount of it works and nobody knows which bit that is, so you're left guessing.
Books
I studied English and have always been interested in literature. I read everything from history and novels to biographies. I'm reading a biography of Brian Cowen by Jason O'Toole, which is very interesting. I loved Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor, it's based on the history of the famine and is written in an almost Dickens-like format. His follow-up, Redemption Falls, wasn't as good. It's like a lot of writers, you come across a great book and you're just waiting for the next instalment but it doesn't meet your expectations. My favourite writer is probably Thomas Hardy. I loved Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and Far from the Madding Crowd.
Radio
I worked in radio for years and I'm still an avid radio listener, it's where I get most of my news and information. If I don't hear what's happening from Morning Ireland I feel like I've missed a meal and I would feel ill-equipped for the rest of the day. I always listen in to Sean O'Rourke's News at One on Radio One, he's the strongest thing on radio. I'll watch the Six One online if I'm at the desk. I always like listening to Olivia O'Leary, she does a weekly colum on Drivetime on Radio One. She has a fantastic take and a fantastic insight on things. It's quite instinctive but seems to me to be fairly well on the money. She's very sharp.
TV
I have a look at the Six One and the nine o'clock news on RTÉ. I tend to use Sky Plus judiciously, it's very good for lapping through news that you've already seen. In terms of news values, production values and quality reporting, nothing comes close to Newsnight and BBC News at Ten. 'Mad Men' is an amazing production - a great story and I follow it avidly. I saw the first full series on RTÉ last year. We recorded it, because it was on very late and watched it in our own time. It was like having a little treat waiting for you.
Advertisments
I love the Guinness rertrospectives - they really do take you back. I loved the one back in the 70s where the guys row out to the island in the curragh with the keg of Guinness and everyone is waiting in the pubs for them to arrive.
New Media
I have a Facebook page, but I'm a little bit sceptical about putting a lot of information about myself up there. It's very interesting to connect with people that you haven't seen in a long time. Though sometimes after the first euphoric 'oh gosh how are you and where have you been' you find that there's very little to say after that. I'm on Linked In as well. It's quite interesting for business purposes to see who connects with who. I use YouTube all the time. It's what I always envisaged the internet was and would be, in terms of having a record of anything that was ever said, sung or performed.
Iarla Mongey is Director of Public Affairs at public relations consultancy Drury
