Media Ownership and Editorial Content: Four Case Studies. Dr Roddy Flynn School of Communications

Transcription

1 Media Ownership and Editorial Content: Four Case Studies Dr Roddy Flynn School of Communications

2 The question Assumption of connection between media ownership/shareholding and content more assumed than empirically demonstrated. Research seeks to establish presence/absence of correlations between these factors. Four case studies 2 print, 2 broadcast.

3 Case studies GSOC surveillance IMMA/Seanad Appointments Moriarty Tribunal Catherine Murphy on IBRC

4 Media Owners/shareholders The Irish State Denis O Brien

5 Methodology Combination of sentiment analysis and framing analysis

6 Health warnings! No correct way to report a story. The research establishes correlation NOT causation. The research does not purport to capture all Irish media content.

7 McNulty Case Study September 2014 Heather Humphries appoints John McNulty to the Board of IMMA. Days later he is nominated as FG s candidate for the Seanad Culture and Education Panel. The government present the confluence of these events as a coincidence.

8 McNulty Case Study

9 McNulty Case Study Sample period: Sept 23 Oct No distinction in RTE/Newstalk extent of coverage. No obvious pattern in story order in news bulletins

10 McNulty Case Study Frames: Connection between IMMA appointment and Seanad nomination? McNulty was/was not qualified to be nominated? Cronynism, stroke politics, abuse/manipulation/mis-use of the appointments process?

11 McNulty Case Study Frames: Fine Gael hypocrisy? They re all at it. Process of appointments to state boards inherently problematic? Progress made towards ending stroke politics?

12 McNulty Case Study Frames Negative/critical statements about Heather Humphreys/ Enda Kenny Government were being evasive? Enda Kenny contrition?

13 Further health warnings Need to weight for different levels of coverage across stations? Distinction between RTE/Newstalk level of coverage vs Today FM would automatically see latter feature frames less. Results measure incidence of frames per editorial segment/news bulletin.

14 Summary of findings Frame incidence

15 RTE outliers - Positive 40 Progress is being made to clean up the appointments process Progress is being made to clean up the appointments process RTE Newstalk Today FM

16 RTE outliers - Negative 60 Enda Kenny critical Enda Kenny critical RTE Newstalk Today FM

17 GSOC Case Study Follows radio coverage (Drivetime, The Last Word and The Right Hook) in week following Feb 2014 Sunday Times article on allegations of surveillance at GSOC.

18 GSOC Case Study

19 GSOC Frames GSOC should have informed the Minister for Justice of suspected surveillance./ Enda Kenny mistaken interpretation of GSOC s reporting obligations. No evidence to support the idea that GSOC had been subject to surveillance? Government spinning.

20 GSOC Frames State/Gardai potential candidates for having conducted the surveillance? Denial of State or Garda involvement? Contradiction/conflict between the government framing of the story and that of GSOC?

21 Summary Frame Incidence

22 RTE - Outlier 60 No/little evidence of surveillance No/little evidence of surveillance RTE Today FM Newstalk

23 Summary No clear correlation between RTE coverage and emphasis on frames consonant with interests of government/state.

24 Moriarty Case Study Covers initial (March 23 April ) post- Report publication news cycle. All Irish newspapers (incl. Irish editions of UKbased papers). 417 Articles from March 23 April from INM titles 277 from Non-INM

25 Articles by title

26 Frames Michael Lowry or Denis O Brien Michael Lowry positive or negative Tribunal positive or negative Denis O Brien positive or negative Suggestion of dealings for financial reward

27 Lowry vs O Brien framing

28 Lowry vs O Brien - Sundays

29 Lowry vs O Brien - Dailies

30 Negative on Lowry

31 Negative on O Brien

32 Suggestions of improper dealings

33 Catherine Murphy/IBRC May Independent TD, Catherine Murphy read details of the banking relationship between Denis O Brien and IBRC into the Dail Record. Details potentially subject of previous injunction on RTE reporting. Constitutional crisis : Parliamentary privilege versus High Court order. 3

34 Sample Period: 29 May April articles in total 29 in INM 65 in Non-INM

35 Frames Parliamentary privilege versus individuals right to privacy. Privilege important for operation of democracy/freedom of speech Privilege potentially subject to abuse Right to Privacy Public interest takes precedent over privacy rights

36 Results No distinction in INM/Non-INM coverage on importance of privilege

37 Abuse of privilege

38 Privacy

39 Privacy

40 Conclusion Case studies identify some correlation between media groups and the frames they apply to stories relating to media owners and large shareholders. However it also appears that Irish media routinely apply same frames to stories. Difference lies in the extent to which competing frames are emphasized.