It might be a mere oversight or coincidence, but the Irish Independent's coverage of this story has been somewhat scant compared with what can be found in the Irish Times and the (London) Sunday Times.
In today's Irish Times, John McManus points out (sub. reqd.) that the crystal (Irish & other) business is actually profitable and it's their other product lines that are causing most of the trouble: "the real problem with Waterford Wedgwood lies with the ceramics business and not the crystal business".
If the Waterford Wedgwood accounts reveal anything at all it is that the non-Irish brands are dragging down the iconic Irish brand". McManus concludes, "rescuing quoted companies, particularly quoted companies that carry out more than three quarters of their operations outside of the State makes no sense for the Government". Correctamundo! (I'm sticking with the Happy Days theme)
Normally, I would expect to see a similar column in the Sunday Independent, but nothing yesterday.
Yesterday's, Sunday Times noted that the request for government aid "came just minutes before it emerged that Sir Anthony O'Reilly, the Waterford Wedgwood chairman, spent €4 million of his own money on building his stake in Independent News & Media". This is the same Independent News & Media that publishes the somewhat reticent (on this topic) Irish Independent.
Why is the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent missing on this story? I wonder.
