Study shows 34% of journalists in Ireland have faced legal action in last five years
Getty 'clear Found In Left Centre Position', Journalists A Of Dcu Hold A Picture: Ireland Report
More than a third of journalists in Ireland (34%) have faced legal action over the last five years, arising from their work, new research has found.
A report from the DCU School of Communications also found that over half of journalists said that media law and regulation was extremely or very influential on their work.
Furthermore, more than half of journalists in Ireland had experienced demeaning or hateful speech towards them, while a quarter (25%) had experienced surveillance over the last five years and more than one in 10 (11%) had experienced stalking.
“The results in our report show many positives in terms of journalists' autonomy, independence, and physical safety, but there are worrying findings, too,” said study authors Professor Kevin Rafter and Dr Dawn Wheatley.
“Journalists' own experiences and values inevitably shape to some extent what they prioritise and how they cover certain topics, so it is very important that the sector does not reflect only the priorities and interests of a narrow group in the Irish population.”
According to the study, Irish journalists hold a “clear left-of-centre position”, with 61.5% of journalists saying they identify themselves as leaning to the left of the centre of the political spectrum, with 8.5% identifying as right-leaning.
Since a similar report in 2016, there has been a further move to the left of the political spectrum according to the study. Compared to the general population, it would suggest that there is an over-representation of left-leaning views among journalists.
“Nevertheless, the survey also shows that journalists remain committed to being “detached” observers, with 71% saying this is very/extremely important to their work,” the researchers said.
Ethnic minorities and those with disabilities are underrepresented in Irish journalism, suggesting a sector that is “out of step” with general demographics.
There were also gender disparities among journalists, including in wages and management positions, with 49% of women journalists earning below the average wage compared to 33% of men.
Furthermore, 58% said they have felt stressed in their work, with significant variations between groups. More than seven in 10 (71%) women are ‘often/very often’ stressed, compared with 49% of men, while journalists aged under 30 are more stressed than those aged 50+.
Almost four in five (77%) said they saw their role being to monitor and scrutinise those in power, while younger journalists were more attached to the idea of their work as “shining a light on society’s problems”.
While a majority of journalists said they had at least a great deal of freedom in selecting the stories they work on, and which aspects should be emphasised, the study stressed “long-standing concerns” around media law affecting these levels of autonomy.
Last month, Press Ombudsman Susan McKay issued a stern warning to politicians who take legal action when other forms of redress are available.
"Politicians, whatever their party background, who choose to sue rather than making a complaint through the Office of the Press Ombudsman, need to ask themselves if this is in the public interest," she said.
Ms McKay’s comments came following the legal action taken by Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews against the and its political journalist Harry McGee over an article in the newspaper.
The researchers in the study added: “Elsewhere, structural constraints, such as media laws in Ireland, commercial pressure, and social media guidelines within news organisations, can also put huge pressure on journalists.
“Our report shows that these pressures affect not only how they do their job, but how they feel about working as a journalist in Ireland.”