Sir, - Is the Vincent Browne who sees no problem in Ed Moloney handing in his notebook the same Vincent Browne who interviewed Dominic McGlinchey?
Using Mr Browne's own definition of the public interest, should he not, in 1983, have alerted the Garda Siochana to the fact that he was planning a secret meeting with McGlinchey?
Failing that, should he not have passed on his notes following the interview? Indeed could he not have gone the whole hog and handed over all information collected during his research into the INLA?
What is at issue in the Ed Moloney case is the independence of the media. If the trust between the journalist and his sources - and potential sources - is undermined, then the ability of journalists to act in the public interest is also undermined.
This is not just about Ed Moloney's notebook! - Yours, etc.,
Seamus Dooley, Irish Organiser, National Union of Journalists, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.