More than one third of Irish journalists surveyed have faced legal action in last 5 years - DCU study
A new report from the School of Communications at DCU shows that 34% of Irish journalists have faced legal action arising from their work over the past five years.
The research findings also highlight other challenges faced by journalists in their work. More than half (55%) of Irish journalists have experienced demeaning or hateful speech directed towards them; 25% had experienced surveillance over the previous five years while 11% had experienced stalking.
‘Irish Journalists at Work - Values, roles and influences’ is co-authored by Prof Kevin Rafter and Dr Dawn Wheatley from the School of Communications at DCU.
The DCU study also finds that Irish journalists hold a clear ‘left-of-centre’ position, with 61.5% identifying themselves as left-leaning while 8.5% identified as right-leaning. Overall, the mean position across all Irish journalists indicates a clear left-of-centre position that has actually moved further left since a similar report in 2016. Comparing Irish journalists to the general population, it would suggest left-leaning views are over-represented among journalists. Nevertheless, the survey also shows that journalists remain committed to being a “detached” observer, with 71% saying this is very/extremely important to their work.
Elsewhere, the results show that ethnic minorities, as well as those with disabilities, are underrepresented in Irish journalism relative to the general population, indicating that the sector may be somewhat "out of step" with the public they serve.
The study reveals several significant gender disparities among Irish journalists, including in wages and in management positions. While the survey found that 56% of journalists were men and 44% were women, only 25% of those in ‘top management’ roles are female. The survey also found that 49% of women journalists earn below the average wage, compared to 33% of men.
The report is part of a wider international Worlds of Journalism research project founded to assess the state of journalism across the globe. The Irish findings are based on data from a sample of 364 national and local journalists working in various media outlets including broadcast, print and digital in the Republic of Ireland.
The report authors Professor Kevin Rafter and Dr Dawn Wheatley – said:
“The results in our report show many positives in terms of journalists' autonomy, independence, and physical safety, but there are worrying findings, too. The gender pay gap remains a problem, especially at the higher levels. There are also concerns around the composition of the workforce, particularly the middle-class profile. 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.
“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.”