The Government has announced €10 million in grants to the media, with the funding allocated to media regulator Coimisiún na Meán to “support public interest journalism.”
The funding, announced by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, includes an allocation of €6 million for Round 2 of the Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes, with a further €4 million allocated for the introduction of a News Reporting scheme.
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, said: “Building on the success of Round 1 of the Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes, I am proud to announce to allocation to Coimisiún na Meán of a further €6 million for the continuation of these schemes, which will enable media outlets to further strengthen their coverage of local authorities and the Courts.
“I am also pleased to see the introduction of a €4 million News Reporting Scheme, which will enable media outlets to report on news topics that are not substantially covered at present.”
The Minister added that as part of the funding, he has asked Coimisiún na Meán to include a “ring-fenced measure worth €3 million for commercial radio under the News Reporting Scheme.”
This funding, he said, would enable commercial radio services to “provide additional high-quality news reporting on matters of public interest.”
Relating to the specific €3 million in funding for radio, Minister O’Donovan said that he was pleased to announce a specific €3 million to the commercial radio sector through the News Reporting Scheme, stating that the allocation “recognises the important role of commercial radio services in providing high-quality, trustworthy and accurate news to the public.”
Such an allocation, he added, was in line with the programme for Government commitment to provide “accessible funding to promote the provision of objective news and current affairs content and will complement the ongoing supports already provided to the commercial radio sector through the Sound and Vision Scheme.
“Community radio stations play a valuable role in community engagement, cohesion and the promotion of social inclusion across the country and provide a crucial public service in the delivery of trusted information to our services. The funding will enhance the provision of high-quality public service content to both local and national audiences.”
In April, Gript’s Jason Osborne reported on how a recent round of Coimisiún na Meán media funding contained a quarter of a million euros (€244,287) for an upcoming Virgin Media documentary titled Misinformation Nation, which it categorised as belonging to the ‘Media Literacy’ genre.
Last July, the national media regulator has published a new gender, equality, diversity and inclusion strategy that encouraged media organisations to make sweeping changes such as introducing anti-racism and unconscious bias training in an effort to better represent “the diversity of Irish society”.
The Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Strategy is currently a non-legally binding guidance document that was developed in consultation with bodies working in the area of diversity and inclusion among others, and it will apply to those involved in film, television, radio, audio and animation production.
The strategy’s “key objective” is stated as being supporting the Irish audio and audiovisual media sector in “planning, developing and delivering a range of strategic activities and initiatives according to best practice, with a view to fostering a media landscape that is representative of, and accessible to, the diversity of Irish society.
Last month, social media giant X lost a High Court challenge brought against the broadcasting and online media regulator over its online safety code.
X International Unlimited Company, which operates X, formerly known as Twitter, had argued that Coimisiún na Meán had engaged in “regulatory overreach” in its approach to restrictions on certain video content.
Coimisiún na Meán’s online safety code, adopted last October, outlines legally binding rules for video-sharing platforms.
X ultimately failed in its bid to seek a High Court order compelling the commission to quash its decision to adopt certain sections of the code. It also failed to have the High Court overturn the commission’s decision to apply the code to its platform.