Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis

Context Phase

Mr. Harry Browne:

No. I cannot say that I did. I was editor of a supplement called Education and Living. Its purpose was to cover the education sector. There was a long-term hope in the paper that it would attract advertising, particularly recruitment advertising for the education sector. Occasionally there were discussions about finding ways to do stories which would make the supplement fit the needs of the sector, so it would understand that while it is good to advertise in Friday's business section, they should also advertise in Tuesday's education section. The myth of the firm wall between editorial and advertising, that nobody from one side ever looks into the other side, is just that, a myth. The discussions certainly took place, but I cannot say that it ever impinged directly on my practice except for the example I give.