Research finds Denis O’Brien less criticised in media titles he owns

Research into newspapers owned by billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien shows he received less critical coverage in his own titles when he was embroiled in controversies.

However, the study by Roddy Flynn of Dublin City University found overall that media ownership, whether State or private, did not have a major influence on the content and tone of articles and broadcasts.

Dr Flynn examined coverage of four news stories, comparing how two of them were treated by state-owned RTÉ and O’Brien-owned Newstalk and Today FM, and how two others were covered by O’Brien’s Independent News and Media newspaper titles and by non-INM titles.