MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    The Political Preferences and Value Orientations of Irish Journalists


    Corcoran, Mary (2004) The Political Preferences and Value Orientations of Irish Journalists. Irish Journal of Sociology, 13 (2). pp. 23-42.

    [img] Download (3MB)


    Share your research

    Twitter Facebook LinkedIn GooglePlus Email more...



    Add this article to your Mendeley library


    Abstract

    There is a dearth of sociologically informed literature on Irish journalists. In her seminal paper. Kelly (1983) laid out the factors influencing the production of news in a general context, acknowledging in her analysis the limited range of research on the Irish media. She highlighted the ideological and personal preferences of journalists on the one hand, and their professional values and practices on the other as key determinants of the news agenda. However, to date no systematic study of Irish journalists has addressed these twin concerns. Drawing on data obtained from a national survey of daily news journalists in the Republic of Ireland conducted in the late 1990s, this paper offers some insight into the class position, political orientation and value system ofa key group of 'meaning producers'in Irish society. In particular, the article seeks to provide insight into the professional culture of Irish journalists and their views on the relationship between the messenger, the message and the audience. This focus is apposite, given the central role played by Irish news journalists in bringing to public attention the variety of political, financial and religious scandals that engulfed Irish society in recent years. The paper concludes that Irish journalists are in the main more liberal in their views than either the professional organisations they work for or the audiences they serve.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Political Preferences; Value Orientations; Irish Journalists;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
    Item ID: 1210
    Depositing User: Prof. Mary Corcoran
    Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2009 16:03
    Journal or Publication Title: Irish Journal of Sociology
    Publisher: A & A Farmar
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
      Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

      Repository Staff Only(login required)

      View Item Item control page

      Downloads

      Downloads per month over past year

      Origin of downloads