Details regarding two government-funded journalism schemes have now come to light, thanks to consultation documents released last week by the media regulatory body, Coimisiún na Meán. The regulator has launched two programmes worth €5 million in total, with the intention of giving all citizens access to reliable, trustworthy news content specific to their locality.
The eligible news sources haven’t overlooked the fact that when the Media Minister, Catherine Martin, introduced these two schemes back in 2022, the cumulative pot was €6 million, whereas the divide is currently €3 million for a local democracy reporting programme and €2 million for a court reporting dedicated scheme.
I’ve been informed that the missing €1 million hasn’t inexplicably vanished but will fund a third scheme which is set to be announced by the regulator in the upcoming summer months.
The autonomous body, Future of Media Commission, presented its report in September 2021, which was later published by the government in July 2022. The body proposed a gradual implementation of six different schemes, that comprise a community media scheme, an access and training scheme, a thematic news reporting scheme and a digital transformation scheme, apart from the two aforementioned.
Superiority was given to the reporting of local councils, district and circuit courts due to the multitude of schemes, even though the Future of Media Commission remained hopeful about the rollout timelines. The body advised prompt action on the local democracy scheme in 2022, in view of the media sector’s pressing requirements. They also recommended that the court reporting scheme should be operational by the fourth quarter of 2022.
The much-discussed arrival of government grants has led to apprehension among certain journalists. Their primary concern is that dependency on public money might undermine public confidence in the press.
As we approach the deadline for media consultations on May 2nd, it’s likely we’ll see either philosophical divides within the Irish media sector become apparent or a simple melee amongst future applicants. Regardless of the outcome, it’s a common scenario for public funding schemes to have disgruntled groups, especially when they are oversubscribed, and these two will be no exception.
The reason these schemes are necessary is evident. Financial constraints in the media industry have led to local news coverage, such as council meetings and court reports, becoming an expense news outlets can ill-afford. Yet, in this era of online misinformation, the importance of reliable news sources providing verified on-the-ground reporting cannot be overemphasised.
Ensuring a public benefit from these schemes, all the content funded will be accessible free of charge on the Coimisiún na Meán online portal seven days after initial publication. This represents a significant milestone for the news industry. Prior to this, outside of RTÉ, only the radio sector received rather modest public funding through the Sound & Vision scheme, though it was not ideally distributed. Apart from a few recent overseas reporting grants provided by the Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund, managed by the Foreign Affairs Department, there have been no direct supports for the press. These new funding schemes are therefore a turning point, signifying a new age of public funding for news organisations who once prided themselves on not needing it.
The anticipated advent of State funding has sparked some apprehension amongst journalists concerned about the potential of government money undermining public confidence in news outlets’ ability to hold the government accountable. However, industry groups and individual publishers had requested this direct support, specifying that it should not compromise editorial independence, in their submissions to the Future of Media Commission. Whether this move signifies a realistic, mature approach or desperation amongst news outlets remains a topic of discussion.
The Coimisiún has suggested that applications for financial help under any funding scheme can be made both by “providers of news and media services relating to current affairs” or by “an independent contractor in conjunction with such a media service provider”, underlining the importance of freelance reporters who may be the only ones currently covering some courts. Their work is spread across various media platforms.
The discussion also touches on establishing “basic standards” for eligibility while providing funding to applicants who show “appropriate skills, capacity, proven history, and association with the Press Council of Ireland”. For broadcasting and video-on-demand applicants, adherence to the respective regulator’s and other similar EU entity’s code of practice is crucial.
The regulator has indicated that the allocation of funds will be based on geographic distribution, with each of the State’s 31 local authority sectors, and every district and circuit area holding open contestable rounds. The court reporting scheme’s main limitation – the exclusion of the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Central Criminal Court, the Special Criminal Court, and the Court of Appeal – mirrors the main goal of both funding schemes, which is to maintain local reporting.
It’s yet to be seen whether the dispersion of funds will consider some media service providers, specifically those with a national and local footprint in their portfolio, which have larger resources and greater financial versatility than those confined to local operations.
Ideally, public funding programmes should not be used as intrusions into areas previously covered by unsuccessful applicants, nor should they be a new source of industry resentment. However, the experiences of similar funding in other sectors signal that such strains may be challenging to avoid entirely.