✕ Headline / Body Mismatch [8/10]: The headline uses a quote from a named official ('the new epidemic') to characterise the rise in arson attacks, which is then explained in the body. This avoids inventing a sensational frame and instead attributes the strong language to a credible source.

"‘The new epidemic’: 35 fire bomb attacks carried out on Dublin homes last year"

✕ Sympathy Appeal [8/10]: The article uses the term 'traumatising' in quotes from both an official and a community member, which allows the emotional weight to come from sources rather than the reporter. This preserves objectivity while conveying impact.

"“It is frightening.”"

✕ Loaded Labels [10/10]: The phrase 'new epidemic' is used in quotes and attributed to Mick Clarke, preventing the reporter from adopting loaded language. This is strong handling of a potentially sensational frame.

"“the new epidemic”"

✕ Fear Appeal [2/10]: The article reports a fatality factually without embellishment, avoiding sensationalism despite the emotional gravity of the event.

"which killed four-year-old Tadhg Farrell and his great-aunt, Mary Holt (60), last December."

✕ Editorializing [10/10]: The article avoids editorialising or inserting opinion. All claims are either attributed or presented as data.

✓ Comprehensive Sourcing [9/10]: The article includes multiple named sources: a council official (Mick Clarke), a youth worker (Brendan Cummins), a council spokeswoman, and the Minister for Housing. It also includes anonymous neighbours, but with clear justification (safety concerns) and balanced with named experts.

"Mick Clarke, head of Dublin City Council’s (DCC) antisocial behaviour and estate management division, in March described the rise in arson attacks as “the new epidemic”."

✓ Viewpoint Diversity [7/10]: The article attempts to include community voices, including two unnamed neighbours, whose quotes convey trauma and fear. While anonymous, their perspectives are relevant and not overrepresented.

"“If the wind had been blowing this way [the fire] would have spread a lot more. We all had to leave our homes, all out on the road at that hour and it was freezing. It was absolutely traumatic.”"

✓ Proper Attribution [10/10]: The article quotes a powerful figure (Mick Clarke) using strong language ('new epidemic'), but clearly attributes it to him and does not adopt it as the reporter’s own. This avoids editorialising while preserving the source’s perspective.

"Mick Clarke, head of Dublin City Council’s (DCC) antisocial behaviour and estate management division, in March described the rise in arson attacks as “the new epidemic”."

✓ Viewpoint Diversity [8/10]: The article quotes the Minister for Housing, James Browne, offering a policy-level response, which balances local operational and national political perspectives.

"Minister for Housing James Browne said he was “concerned that this kind of thing is happening in any community in the country, and such actions are illegal and deliberately intimidating, which is unacceptable.”"

✕ Framing by Emphasis [9/10]: The article focuses on the rise in arson attacks as a systemic issue linked to gang violence and drug debts, rather than isolating incidents. It includes financial, social, and policy dimensions, avoiding episodic or conflict-only framing.

"Figures obtained by The Irish Times indicate these attacks, usually related to drug debt intimidation or gang feuding, are increasing across the country."

✕ Framing by Emphasis [8/10]: The article avoids reducing the issue to a simple moral or conflict narrative. Instead, it integrates data, policy responses, and community impact, presenting a multidimensional picture.

"Impacts on children and young people in affected areas included increased confusion, fear and anxiety, he said"