RTE and Racism in Ireland?

Is Irish society and the Irish media in particular ignoring the apparent racism of the post celtic tiger Ireland?

Listening to Marian Finucane, is the most popular way to learn of current events for many in Ireland. The other day, as I was travelling south through windy and wet weather I tuned in. Her show covered a lot of ground but the issue that stuck in my mind was her coverage of one particular event which happened the night before.

A bus driver was spat at and dragged from his bus and beaten. The delivery of the story was matter-of-fact but the moment I heard of harsh words uttered at the driver and the act of spitting I thought of a racially motivated attack. Perhaps I am at fault here to assume this but my thoughts were, I believe, confirmed when later in the story we were informed that the driver was a Chinese man.

If this story was reported in the U.S., I imagine the ethnic identity of the driver would have been reported close to the headline. However, in this instance on RTE Radio One, the ethnicity of the driver was made known only when an interviewee was asked by Marian Finucane. She reported the event, introduced the interviewee from a Dublin Bus company and conducted the interview. At the end of the interview, almost as if an afterthought, she asked where the driver was from.

I suggest that the ethnicity of the driver might be the headline. I suggest that there is a high probability that the event took place as a racially motivated event. I suggest that if the driver was not a "Non National" (a term I hate which is given to immigrants living in Ireland) this event might not have taken place at all.

Should the media acknowledge the ethnic identity of the characters in the story? Is it racist to ignore the racial identity of the person being reported on? Would the story be more objective with or without identifying ethnicity? Should the media be color-blind? And how can it be?

Later on I watched the RTE Television news. The story was covered and the ethnicity of the driver was not mentioned.

I wonder if the lack of importance given to the ethnicity of the driver in this story is ignoring the real headline? The real headline may be that racial attacks and racism are alive in Ireland and may be gaining traction in these economically difficult times.

In this instance, I believe the ethnicity of the driver was an important fact in the story. Educating the public to the existence of racially motivated attacks is one of the duties of the media.