EDMO Ireland’s Eileen Culloty joined John Lee (Daily Mail) and Mick Clifford (Irish Examiner) on the panel for the Monday with Gavan Reilly show on Virgin Media.
The panel discussed the political fallout of the fuel protests, the media minister’s comments on political coverage of those protests, and what Ireland should do in an era of crisis.
Commenting on media freedom, Eileen echoed the points she made in an Irish Times op-ed on media freedom: Patrick O’Donovan’s attack on RTÉ was wrong, but he had a point about the media
Part of the rationale for media freedom is the airing of diverse views. Yet, across many countries, there are long-standing criticisms that commentators on current affairs operate in a media bubble. In the wake of the protests, it is fair to ask if news media do a good job of capturing and representing a range of public views. It would be interesting to see a detailed breakdown of whose voices and interests are over- and under-represented in newspaper columns and current affairs panel shows.
News organisations should reflect on these issues. It falls on the regulator to update its codes on fairness, objectivity and impartiality. Coimisiún na Meán is already committed to a public consultation on its codes for news and current affairs broadcasting. There is an important opportunity here to move beyond narrow, technical definitions of balance and engage with the deeper question of how media can genuinely reflect and serve a diverse society in an era of fragmented politics and declining trust in institutions. It’s a complex issue, but Ireland’s long term social cohesion requires that we find solutions. Protecting media freedom doesn’t mean politicians shouldn’t criticise the media. The role of a media minister is, of course, a special case, but we need to continually ask questions about media ownership, interests and fair representation.
