With the General Election taking place tomorrow, NewsBrands Ireland, the representative body for Ireland’s leading news publishers, print and online, is urging candidates to support the vital role of public interest journalism in the democratic process and safeguard citizens from fake news and the spread of misinformation.
According to NewsBrands Ireland, in recent years there have been many examples of outstanding public interest journalism which have affected real change in society: from recent investigations which uncovered wrong-doing or illegal activity, to campaigning journalism which achieved tangible results, to the reporting of issues or stories which changed the public discourse.
“Now, more than ever, it is vital that quality journalism is protected because democracy is about voters making an informed choice at the ballot box and that can only happen if there are credible sources of news, where information is factual, trustworthy and accurate,” says Ann Marie Lenihan, CEO NewsBrands Ireland.
“Without a vibrant local and national news publishing industry, who will report on the courts, the Oireachtas, the County Councils, local and national sporting events, raise awareness of important societal issues and campaign for change? As is evident in other countries, without credible sources of news, where information is factual, accurate and politically impartial, public trust and democracy itself are undermined,” she adds.
