O'Donovan Apologizes, Clarifies Media Review Stance

0:00This has been Europe news today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Ireland's media minister Patrick O'Donovan stirred up drama when he called RTA's coverage of recent fuel price protests, lopsided in favor of the protesters, and said he'd review it. He later admitted he botched his wording, saying he made a real mess of explaining himself. The backlash hid fast. Tanai State Simon Harris shut down any talk of a formal review the next day, and it turned out O'Donovan wasn't pushing one anyway. Journalists from the National Union of Journalists slammed it as sinister and disturbing. Opposition leaders piled on two, with labor's Ivana Bacic comparing him to hungaries, Victor Orban, who cracked down on independent media, quipping. Goodbye Victor, hello Patrick. Today O'Donovan owned up on RTE, saying he should have said engage or chat instead. He already met with media regulator, Koi Misiong Namiong, on Tuesday, and they mentioned over 200 complaints about coverage.

1:01He's pushing a bill soon to boost media independence and pointed to his work supporting local reporting, courts coverage, and the regulator itself, insisting these are the moves of someone out to metal.