Media intro

Is it poetic justice, or a reflection of our thirst for news, that one of the world's media hotspots has itself spawned such a large number of media outlets? Northern Ireland has two television broadcasters, four main radio stations, numerous specialist magazines and legions of daily, provincial and Sunday newspapers. These tomes can be a good way of getting to grips with our complex national psyche: or provide excellent wrapping for fish and chips.

The BBC and the commercial Ulster Television (UTV) are Northern Ireland's two main television broadcasters and provide a smorgasbord of national and locally-produced programmes. Both channels' news programmes - UTV Live and BBC Newsline - broadcast weeknights at 18:00 and 18:30 respectively.