Year-long delay in publication of future of media report branded 'disappointing'

Press Ombudsman Peter Feeney: Annual report said increase in complaints last year was driven response to the media’s coverage of Covid-19 and came from an 'anti-vax' perspective.

The Government’s failure to publish a key report on the future of media in Ireland, despite receiving it almost a year ago, is “disappointing” according to the chair of the commission which produced the report.

Professor Brian MacCraith, who chaired the Future of Media Commission, said the public was “still none the wiser” and the media sector still awaits the State’s view on the report’s recommendations.

“We believe now is the time to act,” he said. “We will encourage the Government to publish the report and in particular its response to the 49 recommendations as soon as possible.” 

Professor MacCraith was speaking at the launch of the Press Council and Ombudsman’s annual report for 2021, which highlighted a 50% increase in complaints received last year compared to 2020.

Much of this was driven response to the media’s coverage of Covid-19 and came from an “anti-vax” perspective according to Press Council chair Rory Montgomery.

In its report, the Press Council said: “Social media was a driving force in the generation of many of these complaints. Common to the majority of complaints that were received about Covid-19 articles was that they were the subject of quite a vigorous Facebook campaign by an anonymous Facebook group. The Facebook group provided the text of complaints for submission to the Office in respect of a number of articles, and urged followers to submit a complaint to the Press Ombudsman.” 

Press Ombudsman Peter Feeney said in cases such as this where multiple complaints are issued about the same topic, he will appraise them as part of one overall complaint.

“So it’s a bit of extra work for us but in practice that actually doesn’t greatly add to our overall work and making decisions,” he said. “I think it’s actually a pretty useless exercise to send in 50 identical or near identical complaints, because we treat it as one complaint.

We don’t want to be used as part of political campaigns. I think we’re well aware that we can be used and we’ve done our best to resist that.” 

The Press Council welcomed a commitment from Justice Minister Helen McEntee to bring forward legislation to reform the defamation act, but urged her to "carry it through” sooner rather than later.

Professor MacCraith, meanwhile, said given the Future of Media Commission reported on time to Government last July, it may be the case that circumstances outlined in that report — such as the future funding of RTÉ — may have changed in the meantime and some details may need to be looked at again.

The report also delves into the future survival of local and national media, amid declining advertising revenues and challenges around digital transformation.

“These problems aren’t going away,” Professor MacCraith said. “It’s important, and the earlier they’re dealt with the better.” 

He added that the Irish public was being increasingly exposed to misinformation and disinformation, and that a robust public service media would help to counteract these threats.

He pointed to the January 6 storming of the Capitol building in Washington, the willingness of a large sector of the population to believe the presidential election was stolen and the polarising media in the US as an “example of how bad things could be if we don’t protect our media system”. 

He also highlighted the suppression of a free press in Russia under Vladimir Putin.

Professor MacCraith added he expected the publication of the Future of Media Commission report in the coming weeks.