{"id":14780,"date":"2015-04-23T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T09:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/?p=14780"},"modified":"2015-04-23T02:34:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T02:34:42","slug":"the-search-for-reason-a-talk-by-fergal-keane-bbc-foreign-correspondent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/the-search-for-reason-a-talk-by-fergal-keane-bbc-foreign-correspondent\/","title":{"rendered":"The Search for Reason: A Talk by Fergal Keane, BBC Foreign Correspondent"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>\n<h1>Mr Keane stressed the importance of regional news and praised his time with the Limerick Leader over 30 years ago when he first entered the field of journalism.<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h1>He sought to differentiate between the role of a journalist and the role of others in society.<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h1>Mr Keane advised journalists entering the field for the first time to be careful not to allow pressure from others lead to making mistakes that could \u201cdestroy your career or wreck the lives of others.\u201d<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h1>A questions and answers session following Mr Keane\u2019s lecture covered a variety of topics such as counselling for journalists and the issue of mental health.<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h1>Following a number of queries from the audience he explained that in his opinion, Islamic State is not the greatest danger to world security as many would have the public believe<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h1>Mr Keane touched on other topics such as the 1916 Commemorations and the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris<b>\u00a0(feel free to use whatever works best for your design)<\/b><\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u201cas young journalists I would appeal to you when you go into this profession the first thing you do is you challenge your own bias, you challenge the way you see the world.\u201d<\/h2>\n<h2><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-14782\" alt=\"Fergal Keane at UL\" src=\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Fergal-Keane-at-UL.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Fergal-Keane-at-UL.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Fergal-Keane-at-UL-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Fergal-Keane-at-UL-164x110.jpg 164w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>By Tom\u00e1s Heneghan<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>BBC\u2019s Foreign Correspondent, Fergal Keane gave a lecture last month to students, staff and members of the public at the University of Limerick.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Keane\u2019s talk was part of Journalism@UL\u2019s Current Issues in Irish Media seminar serious and was entitled \u201cThe Search for Reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During his two hour speech to an audience of 200 people, Mr Keane stressed the importance of regional news and praised his time with the Limerick Leader over 30 years ago when he first entered the field of journalism. He told the crowd: \u201cI have deep affection for Limerick&#8230;It was the place that gave me my start as a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Of his decades-long experience Mr Keane said: \u201cI\u2019ve covered over the last three and plus decade\u2019s wars in every continent, in many many countries. I have seen the very worst of what humanity can do and I\u2019ve also been privileged to see the best.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still surprised by that. I still get the huge thrill from going out to do my job. I really do. I love doing what I do. There are times when it exhausts me but I never feel anything less than privileged when I go out to tell people\u2019s stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He also stressed what he called the \u201cprimacy of fact,\u201d saying: \u201cI was taught that when you reported on a local newspaper, you really had to get it right because you walked out the door and you met the people you were reporting on.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a crucial bond that exists between somebody who is reporting local and their audience, in a way that doesn\u2019t if you\u2019re working for the BBC, if you\u2019re working for RTE in Dublin, if you\u2019re working for a national newspaper. Very rarely will you bump into the people later whom you\u2019ve written stories about or broadcast about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFacts were sacrosanct. Clear English was sacrosanct,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Keane recalled one story he covered while working for the Limerick Leader in the 1980s. It involved the banning of Nigerian students from a Limerick nightclub.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He said he had a sense of being under a \u201cgreat deal of pressure\u201d for story to go away, however he said his editor stayed with the piece despite potential adverse effects on advertising for the publication and told him: \u201cBy all means go after people whom you think may have done something wrong, do it&#8230;but be sure you get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During his lecture Mr Keane also sought to differentiate between the role of a journalist and the role of others in society. He said: \u201cWhether I was reporting in South Africa, Rwanda, in the middle east, my job is not to be a cheerleader for any political cause or any group. It is not to be an enemy of any particular group or political cause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOften I think the only valuable advice I can give anyone is if you think you know the Middle East situation, if you think that the Israelis are a shower of whatever and everybody else is victims or the other way around, leave all that at the door. That\u2019s not you\u2019re job as a journalist. Leave that to people who want to carry placards and want to carry flags. That\u2019s not what you\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOther people can make what they will of the facts that you present and simply by reporting the facts it\u2019s enough. You don\u2019t have to carry a flag.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He also praised the growth of other media forms, especially through the internet, saying \u201cWe need mavericks, we need outsiders. It\u2019s one of the great things that\u2019s happened with the growth of websites, independent political websites, and even websites which take a particular political view is that they challenge the establishment journalistic consensus. That\u2019s hugely valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the issue of perceived media bias, he explained: \u201cNo human being is free of bias, no institution from time to time is free of bias, we\u2019re human&#8230;We are prone to err and prone to bias. But the idea that there is a kind of institutionalised bias, that directions are handed down from above which we slavishly follow in relation to political parties, it simply isn\u2019t the case. I wish it was that simple. My life would be a lot easier if I had a set of instructions about how to behave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cflip side\u201d to media accountability through the growth of independent internet news sites, Mr Keane said, was the growing power of \u201cinternet trolls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo matter how rigorous you try to be in the way you present the narrative, you will still have people who watch it and say \u2018You hate Israel, you\u2019re an enemy of the Jewish state\u2019 or \u2018You guys just pay no attention to the Palestinians and what they suffer,\u2019\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people who bombard us with tweets, who organise lobbies against us are not really interested -in fact are definitely not interested &#8211; in an unvarnished narrative of truth. No, what they are interested in is you becoming part of their narrative in the story that you report confirming their bias. And as young journalists I would appeal to you when you go into this profession the first thing you do is you challenge your own bias, you challenge the way you see the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Keane also advised journalists entering the field for the first time to be careful not to allow pressure from others lead to making mistakes that could \u201cdestroy your career or wreck the lives of others.\u201d He added: \u201cIt\u2019s about the facts that you can verify and you have got to be militant about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He pointed out to the crowd that the challenges he faced as a journalist at the beginning of his career were largely the same as those he continued to face at present. He explained that a journalist just needs to say to themselves: \u201c\u2018Where ever these facts take me, I\u2019m willing to go, whoever it offends, whatever it does to my career, I\u2019m willing to follow these facts\u2019 and sometimes you won\u2019t always live up to that, sometimes you will be afraid, sometimes you will back off but keep coming back, keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A questions and answers session following Mr Keane\u2019s lecture covered a variety of topics such as counselling for journalists and the issue of mental health. On this issue Mr Keane said: \u201cYou need to be able to feel for your fellow human beings, otherwise suffering is meaningless to you, it\u2019s just a commodity to be put on the evening news and if you ever get to that stage, then I think you are in real trouble.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201c20 years ago I think you just didn\u2019t pay any attention to [mental health]. I think journalists tended to retreat into alcohol or drugs and left early and faded away and became miserable and unhappy people. There\u2019s much more awareness nowadays, as there is right across the whole field of psychiatric medicine, of the need not to accept that people will suffer their entire lifetime from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He also stressed the need for \u201cawareness\u201d and \u201clifting the stigma that surrounds people being able to publicly admit \u2018I am depressed, I am suffering from a disorder of one kind or another.\u2019 It\u2019s not just within the BBC, but society as a whole has changed dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A number of queries from audience members related to the rise of Islamic State. To this Mr Keane explained: \u201cWe were surprised by the rise of IS but we shouldn\u2019t have been, we should not have been surprised by the rise of IS if we had watched what was happening&#8230;IS are not the first people to go and destroy graven images, as they thought. Look at Henry the Eighth\u2019s England. Look at Europe during the Thirty Years War. One of my big areas is for god\u2019s sake send reporters out there who have some knowledge of history, it\u2019s essential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He explained that in his opinion Islamic State is not the greatest danger to world security as many would have the public believe. \u201cI think there are two huge dangers to international security at the moment. One is the Shia-Sunni conflict, of which Islamic State are a part, they wouldn\u2019t have happened without that conflict.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then if you come to the fracture line in Eastern Europe, this conflict that we imagined had been settled, of which had merely been in thermo-frost, has reemerged. Conflict that doesn\u2019t go back just to the Cold War, it doesn\u2019t go back to the Second or First World War, it goes back to the 19th century. So all kinds of forces are stirring at the moment and I don\u2019t know where they lead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite being an optimist about humanity, I am more concerned now about international security than I have ever been in my life, not because of what I can predict but what I can\u2019t predict, because of the possibility of mischance, of somebody making the wrong statement, making a miscalculation which then leads to an escalating conflict,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Keane said that the many conflicts currently taking place throughout the world merely reflect the fact that \u201cconflict is complex.\u201d He explained: \u201cAlliances and interests change&#8230;I think one of the great faults that we have as journalists is the assumption there\u2019s a solution to everything, there isn\u2019t. There is not. Certainly there isn\u2019t a solution that people in the world would be willing to bare. International affairs are messy and complex; they\u2019re full of grey areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On 1916 commemorations next year he said: \u201cIt\u2019s in the nature of politicians and political parties to appropriate history. They\u2019ll do it next year, they\u2019ve always done it, it\u2019s what I expect, it\u2019s like cats chasing mice, that\u2019s what they do. The more difficult and different question arises as to how should the Government &#8211; a government which represents all of the people, as distinct from a coalition of political parties representing people who specifically voted for them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one person I\u2019d like to hear more from because I really respect his view so much &#8211; I respect his analysis of history and I respect the depth of his intellect &#8211; is our president, Michael D. Higgins. I think there\u2019s a voice of conscience.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have to be Republican. We don\u2019t have to be Revisionist. Let\u2019s just say what happened. There\u2019s enough documentary evidence. We\u2019ve enough excellent historians now who have moved beyond that very reductive debate about Revisionism and Republicanism. Let\u2019s commemorate events, let\u2019s remember what happened.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to have a version of Irish history and a vision of Irish history and of Irish culture that is inclusive and that allows room for us to see things as [the Northern Irish Protestants] saw it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a hugely emotionally complex question, 1916. Everybody\u2019s parents or grandparents or great-grandparents weren\u2019t out in the Rising &#8211; Most of the country stayed at home. And it\u2019s their stories too. They\u2019re the people who\u2019s ancestors fought on the other side. It\u2019s their story too.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe history wars are ended and I think we\u2019re able, we\u2019re mature enough, to look back, not dispassionately &#8211; you can\u2019t be dispassionate about the birth of a nation &#8211; but you can be reasoned, you can apply reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris Mr Keane said: \u201cI think the great crisis is and has been, and if you look at particularly a country like France, the crisis of integration of refugees.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrench society did not integrate these people, it shoved them out into the boundary and it created a separate world, where people weren\u2019t given a sense that they belonged in French society. And eventually this blows back and yes, you get that instability. Trying to argue about the question of migration assumes an absolute right or wrong and there isn\u2019t. There is what societies can bare and each society has a different point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cI was very struck during the Charlie Hebdo affair, when I went to interview a Muslim woman who condemned what had happened but says \u2018I can\u2019t say Je Suis Charlie because it\u2019s an insult to the Prophet, so I condemn the killing, that\u2019s wrong, but it was an insult to the Prophet.\u2019 And she would only be interviewed by us at the very back of a building where nobody else could see because she wanted to wear her veil. She said \u2018If I wear my veil in public, people are going to abuse me.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only long-term solution to it is it\u2019s patient, it\u2019s time-consuming, it\u2019s resource-consuming, but is in resolving those conflicts because people will keep coming, many will drown on the way but many more will make it and they will keep arriving on our shores.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if you think you can build a wall around Europe, good luck to you, it is not going to happen. What humanity shows is it\u2019s incredible resourceful, people will always find a way around a blockage that you put in front of it. We did it ourselves, don\u2019t expect anybody to be any different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to An Focal after the event Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Professor Tom Lodge praised the lecture, saying: \u201cWhat I liked about what Fergal had to say was the way that he started off in Limerick and he kept on bringing all these complicated, difficult issues that are global and international back to the everyday issues that every journalist, where ever they are going to be working, is going to confront whether it\u2019s on your doorstep here in Limerick or anywhere else in the world. I thought it was a great talk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Students] were able to listen and interact tonight to one of the greatest modern journalists to have come out of Ireland. That has got to be inspirational for them and inspirational for us. Fergal is the latest in a succession of fantastic speakers that the school has accommodated and welcomed and I hope there will be many more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Keane spoke to An Focal about the importance of \u201cinner-strength\u201d in a journalist to withstand both implicit and explicit pressure. He explained: \u201cWe are all vulnerable, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re young, whatever age you\u2019re at you are vulnerable to that kind of pressure. And stepping back from it and having the guts say \u2018No, I\u2019m not going to do that\u2019 is absolutely critical because you get yourself into no end of trouble by not doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He said one the key issues for any journalist starting out in the area now was to get a \u201cfirst foot on the ladder\u201d especially with the push for free labour amongst many media organisations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very hard for me to say to people \u2018Don\u2019t do that\u2019 if it\u2019s your only way in. I suppose the only advice I can ever give is just try and get something published because once you have, you have something to show people and never give up.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you really want to be a journalist, the same tenacity that will carry you into a job eventually is the tenacity that will take your career far. It\u2019s the tenacity that will keep you knocking on doors to get the answers that you need. It\u2019s the tenacity that will keep you going in very difficult moments, in difficult places.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Lecturer in journalism at the University of Limerick and freelance journalist, Kathryn Hayes said she believed young journalists present at the talk by Mr Keane learned \u201can awful lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She added: \u201cI think he is inspiring and he has had such a career but what I probably admire most of all about tonight is his humility and I think we saw it here a few weeks ago with Bryan Dobson as well. At the end of the day, I think he said it at one point, he\u2019s not god and that he\u2019s doing a job.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think great credit to Mary Dundon who has been trying to get him for a long time. It\u2019s great for young students of journalism to see somebody of his caliber, of his experience, to speak and to speak so personally and this is such an intimate setting almost here tonight and he has such an honest delivery and I imagine ye learned a lot from him. It probably shows what this programme here in UL is about &#8211; Access to people actively working in industry who can share their experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Other speakers in the Current Issues in Irish Media seminar series this year have included RT\u00c9\u2019s Bryan Dobson and Joe Little, Online News Editor of the Irish Times, David Labanyi and many others.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_14780\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"14780\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;t=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FFergal-Keane-at-UL.jpg&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;text=Hey%20check%20this%20out\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-reddit nolightbox\" data-provider=\"reddit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Reddit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;title=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"reddit\" title=\"Share on Reddit\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/reddit.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-pinterest nolightbox\" data-provider=\"pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Pin it with Pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;media=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FFergal-Keane-at-UL.jpg&#038;description=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pinterest\" title=\"Pin it with Pinterest\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/pinterest.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-linkedin nolightbox\" data-provider=\"linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie&#038;title=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"linkedin\" title=\"Share on Linkedin\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/linkedin.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=The%20Search%20for%20Reason%3A%20A%20Talk%20by%20Fergal%20Keane%2C%20BBC%20Foreign%20Correspondent&#038;body=Hey%20check%20this%20out:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anfocal.ie\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline;width:48px;height:48px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/circle\/96x96\/mail.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mr Keane stressed the importance of regional news and praised his time with the Limerick Leader over 30 years ago when he first entered the field of journalism. He sought to differentiate between the role of a journalist and the role of others in society. Mr Keane advised journalists entering the field for the first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_14780\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"14780\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[101480,101665,100118,101785,101283,101741,101786,101666,100610,100061],"class_list":["post-14780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-an-focal-2","tag-college","tag-journalism","tag-journalist","tag-limerick","tag-newspaper","tag-reporting","tag-student","tag-the-university-of-limerick","tag-ul"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":29,"today_views":0},"views":3284,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Fergal-Keane-at-UL.jpg","wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14784,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14780\/revisions\/14784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}