Interesting BBC Radio 4 program (hosted by Will Crawley) for the quiet days discussing the apparently emerging post-Paisley phenomenon of identifying as "Northern Irish." The comments of Jonathan Burgess beginning around 17 minute mark have particular resonance as he notes that given the choice between watching Newsnight and RTE News, he'd never watch RTE News. For him it's a matter of identity but it's worth noting that you can be in the Republic and be equally bemused at the news priorities not just of RTE but the republic's media culture in general. One way to characterize the problem is as an obsession with local personalities crowding out any longer-term perspective on local developments, let alone on the outside world. Where, for the purposes of the Irish media, "outside world" includes Northern Ireland.