Former Fine Gael Politician Charged With Human Trafficking & Possessing Sex Abuse Images, Some Media Half-Heartedly Reports

WITH FORMER Fine Gael councillor Bill Tormey accused of possessing child pornography images and helping to bring an illegal immigrant into the country, some media outlets have reacted with somewhere between 2 and 3% of the breathless coverage they normally reserve for such a bombshell news item.

“There is a case before the courts, this curtails what we can report but also I’m devastated this wasn’t a Sinn Féin rep, ‘cus it’s now basically a non-story worthy of little to no further reporting” confirmed one journalist, whose desire for fishing out crass details and doorstepping politicians is unusually absent.

Layout designers and editors who may have been required to work late on 32-page special pullout supplements on such an Earth-shattering story have been stood down, as have producers of emergency podcasts, as it now transpires this isn’t a big story in the public interest.

“I may have demanded Sinn Féin answer all and any questions relating to the case of their once-staff member being a sex offender, but it would be downright tawdry journalism to ask Fine Gael to answer for an individual and their alleged actions. A trial much take place. And when that is over and if he’s found guilty, I will say ‘justice has spoken, there is no more to say’ and move on,” one reactionary columnist confirmed.

“No, there’s a clear difference; in the case of Sinn Féin you can extrapolate out an issue and ask, speculate and confirm it’s proof of deficiencies and anti-democratic values which are unique to the party but if such alleged crimes relate to a Fine Gael member, that’s mere coincidence and it would be churlish and unethical to draw conclusions about the party itself,” confirmed another columnist readying a ‘Expect The Opposition To Play Political With An Incredibly Sensitive Issue’ article.