Dr. Julien Mercille:

At one level, a journalist is under time constraints. A few inconsistencies are not a problem. One cannot expect someone to have 1,000 articles all sharply in line with the same position. I do not have a problem with any viewpoint, be it conservative or progressive, as long as it is serious, has quality and is trying to find out something interesting. In the Irish media one has pub talk discussions or just fillers for the newspapers. One could have the same conversation with a friend anywhere and it might not be very relevant. One sees inconsistencies because there is not really a clear viewpoint. They will just talk randomly with people shifting their views pretending they said that.