The Orange Institution and the Media

Members of the Orange Institution, our families, friends, supporters and a great many tourists enjoyed a Glorious Twelfth.  Major events were held in 18 venues with tens of thousands taking part and many more spectating. 

Faced with no bad news to report, local print and digital media outlets instead turned their attention to attacking the wider Orange family, churning out a daily diet of inaccurate, sensationalist and divisive commentary.  

Sadly, over the years we have become accustomed to the so-called “commentators” who are paid to produce content for the Irish News amongst others, spewing bile and intolerance towards anything associated with our culture, our community, and our traditions. This year has been no different. No comparable, hate filled commentary on Nationalism is to be found in the pages of other reputable publications such as the News Letter – and neither it should be. 

The BBC continue to marginalise Orangeism. Their Twelfth coverage in recent years has been prefixed by introductory remarks which recognise that people sometimes “have different views about the Twelfth.”  When questioned by GOLI Officers as to what other local programmes were introduced in such a manner, their Northern Ireland Director could offer no examples and described the Orange Institution as ‘unique.’  This ‘uniqueness’ was manifested in a decision to cancel live coverage of the Twelfth whilst increasing coverage of Gaelic Games and Irish language output.

This year, the BBC’s cultural bias was compounded by poor journalism and failing to fact check a story before reporting and repeating it. As has now been publicly clarified by all parties, the statement by a Comber Lodge did not lead to the cancelling of a children’s summer cricket camp. The BBC coverage of this matter was relentless and unbalanced. No equivocal effort was expended in clarifying the matter when the actual facts came to light. Similarly, there was no clamour to file multiple stories around the attack on Rasharkin Orange Hall or the destruction of an Orange Arch in Dromara in the early hours of the Twelfth. 

Given their ‘all island’ broadcasting fascination, BBC NI have become nothing more than a media version of Ireland’s Future – lots of headlines, but not much substance. 

The Belfast Telegraph and their sister publication Sunday Life went even further, publishing an article about the Worshipful Master of Goldsprings Lodge.  The nature of this reporting was nothing more than the victimisation of an individual who hadn’t committed a crime or acted illegally - he was simply a member of a lodge which had issued a statement highlighting the fact that the GAA is a political organisation with elements having links to Republican terrorists. 

Comments from the leadership of the GAA when challenged about the names of individual clubs or competitions have done little to alleviate community concern around the GAA’s claimed inclusivity.  

Will the Belfast Telegraph door step the organisers of the Joe Cahill children’s GAA Gaelic competition to be held as part of feile an phobail?  Will it publish their photographs, harass their families or unnecessarily highlight their business interests?  We suspect the Dublin owned publication will not - because they would argue that it was inappropriate to do so. And yet, members of the Orange Institution are considered ‘fair game’ for such treatment.  

The Belfast Telegraph erroneously reported the cost of policing the 2025 Twelfth was set to be £6.1million. Even when they were informed by the PSNI that these figures were inaccurate and represented the historic cost of policing all parades, protests and related events across a 5-month period in 2024, no clarification, correction or retraction was published by the paper. 

Efforts to describe the long running parade organised by Portrush Sons of Ulster Flute Band as ‘controversial’ provided another opportunity for sections of the media to demonise the Unionist community and our culture. Inaccurate reporting and sensationalised headlines sought to perpetuate the myth that the event would somehow cause massive disruption for the organisers and attendees at the British Open.

Sadly, for the media, the event was an unmitigated success, with dozens of bands from across Northern Ireland providing a musical spectacle for locals and visitors alike and drawing the largest crowd Portrush had witnessed all week. Unsurprisingly, the positivity around the parade will not generate multiple stories in the print media or their online channels.   

As a community who celebrate and commemorate the Glorious Revolution and the resulting Bill of Rights which delivered much more freedom for the press, we also contend that those freedoms come with responsibility. The Orange Institution, like any organisation expects to be scrutinised - however we also expect that scrutiny to be fair, accurate and professional. Sadly, many good journalist and media staff, from all community backgrounds, are being failed by poor management and politically motivated editorial direction. 

The Orange Institution intends to raise our concerns about BBC Northern Ireland with the BBC Board and will request a similar engagement with the owners of the Belfast Telegraph. We have previously engaged with the Irish News with little success.  Regrettably, the vitriol and intolerance of their approach appears to be worse than ever. 

What our detractors fail to understand is that the Orange family are no strangers to persecution or attack. Our history has shown that such treatment, rather than weakening our resolve, makes us stronger. 

ENDS.