Full coverage: Media

A preferred bidder has entered exclusive talks for the acquisition of the popular death notices website. Publishers and private equity investors have expressed interest in the business including The Irish Times Group, which denies it is currently talking with the family owners of RIP.ie.

Frank Fitzgibbon co-founded The Sunday Business Post and edited The Sunday Times in Ireland for 15 years. He talks about clashing with tycoons, breaking the FAI story, the future of the media, draconian libel laws and who he thinks is Ireland’s best business leader.

Oliver Callan is a satirist and comedian, but he also runs his own business and cuts his own deals. He talks about building a brand, challenging vested interests and performing comedy in a time of crisis.

Despite Covid-19, Greencastle Capital continues to buy rival media brands. Its latest acquisition was previously owned by businessman Emmet O'Neill.

Jack Murray has built Media HQ, a digital contacts book with 70,000 profiles, to help clients effectively communicate and tell stories without getting bogged down in finding the right people. He talks about developing the business, plans for expansion and his new book on storytelling.

Looking at financial data for the traditional income sources of the media industry, the outlook is gloomy. But the pandemic has restored the public’s confidence in traditional media – now companies and government must capitalise on this.

While film and television studios have been shuttered, animation is thriving. With its employees happy to work at home, Dublin firm Treehouse Republic recently wrapped up a 40-second ad for An Post in 10 days, and is now working on a range of new cartoon projects with international partners.

KPMG has been appointed as interim examiner to the Niall McGarry-founded business following a move by the debt financier Beach Point. The examiner now has 100 days to save the publisher behind Joe.ie and Sportsjoe.ie.

Alan Cox, the CEO of Core, stands at the intersection of media and business. As a result of Covid-19, ad campaigns are being deferred, newspaper sales will fall and some cinemas may close. However he is determined to get through the crisis with his team.

Billionaire financier Dermot Desmond claims the publication of the Panama Papers wrongly linked him to rogue transactions and breached his privacy. A looming High Court battle will test Ireland’s embryonic privacy laws, as well as journalistic privilege.