Spirit of the nation

This chapter examines the relationship that existed between journalists and Charles Haughey. It outlines the telephone tapping controversy of the early 1980s – during which the telephones of several journalists were tapped by the government – and how numerous journalists sought to varying degrees of success to investigate the source of Haughey’s wealth and the corruption then endemic in Irish public life. It looks at how the concerted efforts by Haughey and his supporters to frustrate journalistic inquiry created an atmosphere of fear and risk avoidance on the part of media organisation during the 1980s.

Lifting the lid

This chapter examines the development of investigative journalism from the early 1970s onwards. It looks at the ground-breaking Sweepstakes éxpose of 1973, how the early investigations into corruption in local government were frustrated, and the infamous Heavy Gang investigation into police brutality by the Irish Times. It also looks extensively at how a new generation of journalists sought to instil transparency and accountability into Irish public life through the development of periodicals such as Hibernia, Magill, Hot Press and In Dublin. In time the journalists who cut their teeth on these periodicals would migrate to mainstream media – bringing their investigative zeal with them.

The Troubles and censorship

This chapter examines the fraught relationship that emerged between journalists and government and amongst journalists themselves during the 1970s. As the Northern Troubles escalated the dangers for journalists, both physically and politically, quickly became apparent and the imposition of censorship brought the journalist–politician relationship to a new low. While the government was concerned about the security of the state, journalists were concerned about the survival of free speech. As the conflict wore on the debate on censorship became more fractious as did relations among and between journalists, editors and government.

The impact of television

This chapter examines the impact that the arrival of television had on journalism. It argues that Section 18 of the Broadcasting Authority Act had a profound influence on the trajectory of journalism. This section required RTÉ to be ‘fair and impartial’ in its news and current affairs – a very different requirement to that which had previously informed journalism. This inevitably put pressure on other media outlets to distance themselves from their political allegiances and give journalists greater autonomy. The chapter examines how, in a decade of unprecedented social change, this new dynamic in journalism took root and looks at the clashes that erupted between journalists and institutions that had, up to then, had it all their own way.

Conclusion

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A red republic

This chapter examines the 1950s, a decade of rancorous division among journalists. Alongside economic depression and political instability and against the backdrop of the Cold War came church-fuelled allegations of communism within Dublin journalism. The red-scare that followed exposed deep divisions within the formally untied ranks of the union and the declaration of a republic in 1949 led some journalists to object to being represented by a London-based trade union. Thus emerged the short-lived, but extremely divisive, Guild of Irish Journalists. It was, in some respects, a last attempt by political parties and the church to re-assert control over journalists in Ireland.

High dignity and low salaries

This chapter examines how, in the early 1900s, Irish journalists organised themselves into an association that examined contentious issues such as salaries, employment conditions, the social status of journalists, the place of women in journalism, and whether trade unionism was appropriate for journalists. Against the backdrop of the Great Lockout, the First World War, and the 1916 Rising this nascent organisation (the Irish Journalists’ Association) allowed journalists to discuss contentious issues amongst themselves. However, the development of the association was hampered by divisive debates about the role of journalists in society and the bid for national independence by physical force.

Power in a union

This chapter examines the development of trade unionism for journalists and the impact it had on professional solidarity by examining the development of the National Union of Journalists in Ireland, which established a Dublin branch in 1926. The union provided a focal point for the resolution of many issues affecting journalists and journalism including the protection of sources, free speech, and employment conditions. In 1947 the union secured the first industry-wide agreement between a journalists’ representative organisation and newspaper proprietors and from then the NUJ was central to understanding the development of journalism in Ireland.

An appalling vista

This chapter examines the seemingly unending revelations of political, religious, and financial corruption that dominated the 1990s. It surveys the banking and policing scandals that dominated this decade and examines the struggles that journalists engaged in to expose this corruption. It also devotes considerable attention to the church scandals that were finally exposed by journalists – in particular the child abuse scandal that was to change forever the relationship between the once all-powerful Catholic Church and journalism.

Free State–free press?

This chapter examines how a conservative climate impacted on journalism in the newly independent Free State. It surveys the moral crusades against what was viewed as vulgar journalism and the lobbying by vigilance associations to cleanse journalism of content, such as crime reporting, that was considered undesirable. It examines the impact the Censorship of Publications Act 1929 had on journalism by looking at the Waterford Standard case of 1929 and the lesser-known ‘kissing case’ of 1937 – both of which had a long-lasting chilling effect on journalism in Ireland – particularly in relation to media coverage of certain types of crime.