in a summer 2024 report it points out that urban and suburban North Dublin has a news desert. An area where news is not served.
Currently, there is little evidence of news deserts in Ireland. Typically, local media cover a specific county and cater to the rural, suburban, and urban areas of that county. The Future of Media Commission noted that each county is served by a local newspaper and, outside Dublin, local radio often accounts for the majority-share of radio listenership. While this situation sounds positive, the reality may not be so healthy as local media encounter many challenges. Nevertheless, it is the rapidly growing suburbs of Dublin city that are at most immediate risk of being news deserts. These suburbs lack a media presence commensurate with their size. Many were served by “free newspapers” that often prioritised entertainment and local events rather than news. In the suburbs of North County
Uncovering news deserts in Europe: Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU
Dublin, these and related outlets have closed down, which makes this area a news desert.
The report is correct that local commercial media has declined. With local radio in Dublin City being presented from London 3 hours every morning on one station, the move is stark. But it has long been the norm, that local politics is not the topic of discussion on mid morning or breakfast radio in Dublin. If you want to hear a local TD or Councillor interviewed on radio in Dublin it will be about a local matter and on Community Radio of which there are 6 in Dublin. Phoenix FM (West Dublin), Dublin South, Dublin City, Near FM (North East), Liffey Sounds (South West) and. Raidio na Life (city wide Irish language station).
Also about 10 months before this report was released the independent Dublin Inquirer spread its beat from just Dublin City to also include Fingal. Dublin Inquirer is subscription supported and covers local democracy issues.
Dublin Gazette and Northside People are still available free sheets but the amount of hard journalism within these has declined over the years. The loss of North County Leader and Fingal Independent along with Malahide Gazette leave a gap in the local print market.
This comprehensive report about Irish media covers advertising trends also. During the Covid 19 pandemic there was a huge up swing in State Advertising and this has continued beyond the lockdowns. On radio, govt. funded ad campaigns can represent 60% of adverts per ad break. None of this avertising is placed on community media.
State advertising rules are unclear. There is no legislation defining the procedures for state advertising and no public register of how such advertising is distributed. The annual Liberties Rule Of Law Report 2023 notes that greater clarity is needed regarding the criteria and processes that determine which media outlets receive state/public advertising. Moreover, the report raises concerns about the use of commercial brokers to place advertisements on behalf of the state and state agencies. In particular, “one agency is owned and controlled by a company which itself owns a significant number of regional newspaper titles.”
With all of the funds mentioned in the Irish section of this report yet to start as 2025 starts, it will be interesting to monitor the impact the FoMC funds will bring to local and community media in Ireland. A definition of local media is also required as we transition to platform neutral funding.