earnings is surely its strength? Tony O'Reilly has exploited an enviable knack of targeting the right geographical zones with an uncanny anticipation of future trends." While Denis O'Brien is often newsworthy, the Sunday Independent has paid particular attention to him when his business activities conflicted with Independent News Media. Denis O'Brien has perceived bias in the Independent Group's coverage and in a 2003 letter to Gavin O'Reilly wrote "As far as I am concerned, Independent News and Media have spent the last seven years trying to destroy my reputation. Some of the coverage of my affairs, both business and personal, in the Sunday Tribune, Sunday Independent, Irish Independent and Evening Herald have caused hurt and enormous damage to my reputation, not to mention the emotional distress suffered by my wife, Catherine and my family. I very much doubt whether you or your family could have survived a similar onslaught." After this O'Brien began to build a personal stake in INM plc at huge cost and in 2007 as O'Brien stepped up his criticism of the O'Reilly management Shane Ross labeled Denis O'Brien as a dissident shareholder and accused him of launching "a destabilisation strategy" due to the critical report into INM's corporate governance. Ross also described the critics as "human stooges" and lauded the share price under O'Reilly, and looked forward to a "bright future" "Shareholders in Independent Newspapers have never been better off. On Wednesday its stock stood at €3.66, close to its high. In the last year it has outperformed the Irish index. A record dividend is due to drop into shareholders' letterboxes . The stock yields 3.5 per cent. While the future looks bright, the past is dazzling. Any shareholder who invested €1,000 in the Indo's shares in 1973, when O'Reilly took over, will now have €580,000" In a 2008 commentary on the INM plc AGM Shane Ross referred to O'Brien as "an ordinary, likeable bloke ... from a solid middle-class background" but a "little businessman" and "no star", and mocked his Malta residency, although not only was Chairman Tony O'Reilly a resident in an offshore tax haven (Bahamas) but 70% of CEO Gavin O'Reilly's remuneration was paid into an-off shore Jersey entity. "Whatever the source of the obvious personal resentment which the man from Malta feels for Sir Anthony O'Reilly, this weekend let us show him some gratitude. He gave us shareholders a clear choice. In