looking for a breakdown of Irish media 'partiallity'

positivenote

HI all,
not sure if anyone can help but im looking for a list of which newspapers/broadcasters within Ireland are 'partial' towards which political parties.... or which agendas they may be stereotypically associated with?
any links on where to source the info would also be appreciated.
THanks in advance

jdivision

There's disagreement but I would say
SBP - formerly pro-SF but that was a long time ago, now pro-FF
Sindo - Pro-FF
Indo - Will kick anybody but inclination towards FG these days
Examiner - FG
Tribune - neutral with a bias towards Labour
Irish Times - FG
All Rupert Murdoch papers - pro-FF
Associated Newspapers - looking to put boot into anybody

positivenote

THanks foir that
is it a case that the pro FF papers are pro Govt in power, just happens to be FF for past 20 years? IE will we see pro govt agendas continue in after the next election?
as a matter of interest where would the best place to look for examples of these listed bias? (please dont say in the papers themselves

JustinDee

jdivision wrote: »

There's disagreement but I would say
SBP - formerly pro-SF but that was a long time ago, now pro-FF
Sindo - Pro-FF
Indo - Will kick anybody but inclination towards FG these days
Examiner - FG
Tribune - neutral with a bias towards Labour
Irish Times - FG
All Rupert Murdoch papers - pro-FF
Associated Newspapers - looking to put boot into anybody

If ever there was a broad brush used . . .
For a start, the Sunday Times has been anything but pro-FF. News Intl's red-tops the same. The Murdoch claim of being "pro-FF" is obviously bupkis.
A Sunday Tribune bias toward Labour? Hardly.
What makes the poster above think the Irish Times is biased towards Fine Gael or anyone, for that matter?

If you want to take an overview of perceived bias in media, you do the hard yakka and dig it out yourself.
Why trust someone else's perception on it? Who's to say they're not biased? Or aren't simply a contrarian? Neither viewpoint offers a fair oversight.
Since you're referring to newspapers, the places to start are the front pages and then the daily editorials. In those editions you will also see the amount of column inches dedicated to subject.
Using web archives, select dates where maybe four or five notable political events of the past two or three years occurred and make bullet-point comments summaries on what happened at each newspaper. Then when finished sum it all up. Give them a score out of 5 with 0 being neutral and 5 being the equivalent of a copy of 'Militant'.

outandabout

My personal view, based on some experience of working in Irish national newspapers is that the majority of Irish journalists are middle class and college educated and there are individual biases because of this.

The party line is usually dictated by the proprietors and is usually pro-business and anti trade union.

jdivision

The Sunday Times has been very much pro-FF, all of Murdoch's titles were. Judging it on the last year isn't the same, you've got to look at it over a period of time.
The Sunday Tribune has traditionally been a very pro-public sector newspaper and covered Labour issues indepth, it's not now but historically it was
And The Irish Times is very FG and has been for a long, long time - it's basis has always been anti-FF and therefore FG as best alternative in Irish Times mindset

outandabout

The Sunday Tribune has traditionally been a very pro-public sector newspaper and covered Labour issues indepth, it's not now but historically it was
....
Paradoxically, former editor Vincent Browne was involved in a running battle with the National Union of Journalists over pay/conditions and other issues until he left the paper.

FewFew

positivenote wrote: »

HI all,
not sure if anyone can help but im looking for a list of which newspapers/broadcasters within Ireland are 'partial' towards which political parties.... or which agendas they may be stereotypically associated with?
any links on where to source the info would also be appreciated.
THanks in advance

Similar to what JustinDee said, but perhaps an easier way to go about it, why not check the many many dissertations done on this topic every year? I'm sure there are official reports out there as well, but it's a question that constantly gets asked around thesis time in journalism courses, so get a day pass into a college library and look up the conclusions found.

irishh_bob

jdivision wrote: »

There's disagreement but I would say
SBP - formerly pro-SF but that was a long time ago, now pro-FF
Sindo - Pro-FF
Indo - Will kick anybody but inclination towards FG these days
Examiner - FG
Tribune - neutral with a bias towards Labour
Irish Times - FG
All Rupert Murdoch papers - pro-FF
Associated Newspapers - looking to put boot into anybody

no irish newspaper is officially known as being pro any party or any idealogy for that matter in the same way the daily mirror in the uk is out and proud as being pro labour and the daily mail is unapologetically pro the conservative party but thier are obviously idealogical bents in various publications

btw , if the irish time is to be labelled pro any party , it is pro labour

thier is only one right wing publication in ireland , the sunday indo , the indo itself is centre right , all the rest are soft left , rte is itself centre left

irishh_bob

outandabout wrote: »

My personal view, based on some experience of working in Irish national newspapers is that the majority of Irish journalists are middle class and college educated and there are individual biases because of this.

The party line is usually dictated by the proprietors and is usually pro-business and anti trade union.

the irish times and RTE are pro union

steelcityblues

The same Irish Times that has Fintan O'Toole, Vincent Browne, Garret Fitzgerald (FG in name only) as regular contributors is an FG paper? Don't think so!

If anything, it has a bit of a pro-Labour/public sector streak, which only Sarah Carey really challenges.

Irish Indo will only return to its pro-FG roots if you know who gets what he bargains for!

mari2222

Sarah Carey writes for the Irish Times.
she has herself written that she:
- got the job through personal contacts;
- will not criticise estate agents as her brother is one
- is daughter of county councillor.

I think it is good to know about journalists leanings as much as about the newspaper. Self-disclosure or disclosure of possible conflicts of interests should be mandatory for media people.

uvox

steelcityblues wrote: »

The same Irish Times that has Fintan O'Toole, Vincent Browne, Garret Fitzgerald (FG in name only) as regular contributors is an FG paper? Don't think so!

If anything, it has a bit of a pro-Labour/public sector streak, which only Sarah Carey really challenges.

Don't forget Noel Whelan.

You may be able to find material about ideological leanings on the Village and MediaBite sites. Check university libraries for papers on the subject (Gibbons, etc) and take a flick through this one in a book shop: http://www.ucdpress.ie/ucdpress/display.asp?isb=9781904558835&

RTE's leanings? Given Miriam O'Callaghan, Ryan Tubridy et al I would have thought Me Fein.

outandabout

Didn't Irish Times editor Geraldine Kennedy once run for the PDs in a General Election?

MalteseBarry

jdivision wrote: »

The Sunday Times has been very much pro-FF, all of Murdoch's titles were. Judging it on the last year isn't the same, you've got to look at it over a period of time.
The Sunday Tribune has traditionally been a very pro-public sector newspaper and covered Labour issues indepth, it's not now but historically it was
And The Irish Times is very FG and has been for a long, long time - it's basis has always been anti-FF and therefore FG as best alternative in Irish Times mindset

Murdock's papers in whichever countries he operates tend to favour the party in power, or the party about to be in power. It's good for his business to do that, or so they appear to believe.

Horsebox_twenty

jdivision wrote: »

The Sunday Times has been very much pro-FF, all of Murdoch's titles were. Judging it on the last year isn't the same, you've got to look at it over a period of time.
The Sunday Tribune has traditionally been a very pro-public sector newspaper and covered Labour issues indepth, it's not now but historically it was
And The Irish Times is very FG and has been for a long, long time - it's basis has always been anti-FF and therefore FG as best alternative in Irish Times mindset

The ST actually strongly backed FG in the 2007 election, and that's almost 4 years ago. It has been virulently anti-FF ever since then. It hasn't been sympathetic to FF since McCreevey went to Brussels (2004?) and it always hated Ahern.

Just because the Irish Times is anti-FF, it doesn't mean it has been pro FG. I'd have thought it has been fairly hard on Kenny at times.

The Trib is chasing a different market than it used to.

jdivision

Horsebox_twenty wrote: »

The ST actually strongly backed FG in the 2007 election, and that's almost 4 years ago. It has been virulently anti-FF ever since then. It hasn't been sympathetic to FF since McCreevey went to Brussels (2004?) and it always hated Ahern.
.

Disagree entirely, they brown nosed a lot to FF

Horsebox_twenty

jdivision wrote: »

Disagree entirely, they brown nosed a lot to FF

Are you going to say this without giving any evidence jdivision? What you say is just nonsense - you're way off the mark.

On May 20th 2007, the Sunday before the last election over three and-a-half years ago, the ST ran an editorial entitled "Time for Ahern to go"... To clear matters up, I'll print for you the final paragraph of that editorial. The ST was the only newspaper in Ireland to call for a vote for FG - the only one. Everybody in the media knows it is a strongly FG-oriented newspaper. It has never "brown-nosed" FF under its current editor, who is a committed Blueshirt. He's been in place since 2005 or 2006.

"As a key player in the deal that brought peace

to Northern Ireland and prosperity to the republic,
Mr Ahern has secured his legacy. After 10
years in office, a juncture at which his friend
Tony Blair called it a day, it looks all downhill.
Successive polls show the public want a new
start. Fianna Fail has ruled this country for 18 of
the past 20 years. Change can only be achieved
by supporting Fine Gael on Thursday, ensuring

it is the dominant force in a new government."

jdivision

Can't link when you don't have access to the website. Justine McCarthy did a piece last week that basically stood up for Cowen, nuts. They had a run of stories on the front page towards the end of last year that were pro-government in terms of making them look better or overstating things so that the budget didn't seem as bad as expected. income rate increases, burning senior bondholders were among them. in addition, even though he's an outside columnist Cooper did a piece on the fact that FF might be back in govt despite messing everything up.

goose2005

The Sindo is also extremely anti-Sinn Féin. I think the Irish Times is equally pro-FG and Labour.

RadioRetro

outandabout wrote: »

Didn't Irish Times editor Geraldine Kennedy once run for the PDs in a General Election?

Yes, elected in 1987 in the Dun Laoghaire constituency. Lost it in '89.

irishh_bob

goose2005 wrote: »

The Sindo is also extremely anti-Sinn Féin. I think the Irish Times is equally pro-FG and Labour.

im not saying the sindo isnt anti sinn fein but eoghan harris makes it appear worse than it is on the subject , the man manages to fit the shinners into a conversation about the price of fish

whydoibother?

jdivision wrote: »

Can't link when you don't have access to the website. Justine McCarthy did a piece last week that basically stood up for Cowen, nuts. They had a run of stories on the front page towards the end of last year that were pro-government in terms of making them look better or overstating things so that the budget didn't seem as bad as expected. income rate increases, burning senior bondholders were among them. in addition, even though he's an outside columnist Cooper did a piece on the fact that FF might be back in govt despite messing everything up.

Personally, I think there is a temptation amongst journalists and papers to just say something controversial. When the truth is plain and obvious and has been so for a while, it gets boring. Then come the crazy pieces. I'm all for journalists challenging our perceptions, but sometimes they write something way-off just to be rebels imo.

goose2005

irishh_bob wrote: »

im not saying the sindo isnt anti sinn fein but eoghan harris makes it appear worse than it is on the subject , the man manages to fit the shinners into a conversation about the price of fish

Brendan O'Connor does it too - and the last edition had the bizarre headline, "Is Micheal Martin the Man to Stop Sinn Fein?" on the front page