A survey by the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland shows radio stations provided 429 hours of high-quality coverage of Local and European Elections
According to the survey, 217 individuals, including 167 journalists and 50 production and support staff, worked on the election counts that took place in early June of this year for independent radio stations.
The June election results and counts accounted for 79% of the stations’ News and Current Affairs output on average.
- There were a collective 6.57 million hits or visits to station websites relating specifically to the election coverage
- Trusted news coverage is a bulwark against social media election interference and denial of results
- A major doubt hangs over the sector’s ability to continue high levels of localised election coverage due to lack of funding
Independent stations span 34 broadcasters at local, regional, multi-city and national level, serving over 2.5 million listeners daily all over Ireland.
Michael Kelly, Chief Executive of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland said: “We are very proud of the coverage of all the counts and results announcements across our 34 independent stations. Our comprehensive coverage plays a huge role in ensuring people are informed by trusted journalists and presenters of the outcome of elections, its helps support democracy and prevent election-interference or election-denial. The provision of accurate information by trusted media is the best defence against misinformation and disinformation on social media.”
“RTE is set to receive massive state funding from the Exchequer and TV licence fee for its core operations, but the entire independent sector currently receives zero funding for core news and current affairs and that is blatantly unfair and anti-competitive. It is vital that Cabinet does not take a decision on RTE funding in isolation without committing to multi-annual funding for our sector’s core News and Current Affairs,” Mr Kelly added.
“The announced Court Reporting and Local Democracy reporting schemes do not in any way help our core News and Current Affairs to survive because they only support additional areas over and above what our newsrooms already broadcast every day. That does not preserve existing services. It is vital that Councillors and Oireachtas members support our strong call for deserved support. We must all work to prevent ‘news deserts’ developing, leading to a situation where responsible reporting of local issues is replaced by polarising, divisive and extremely damaging online and social media content mobilised by elements whose aim is to confuse and disrupt the electorate.”
KCLR CEO John Purcell Spoke to Alan O’Reilly on The KCLR Daily about the survey
