Fianna Fáil calls for €30m fund to aid ‘quality print journalism’

FIANNA Fáil have called for a €30million fund to be established to ‘secure the future of quality print journalism’.

Communications spokesman Timmy Dooley yesterday published several proposals in a policy paper after becoming concerned about the downturn in revenue for news publishers in recent years and the rise of ‘fake news’.

But the plans have been criticised by Fine Gael for focusing on the medium of print and not the wider media, such as online and broadcast journalism.

‘This is about the preservation and protection of quality journalism and we need to support it through the transition to the digital space,’ he said.

The proposals include appointing a minister for the media, expanding the role of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to allocate funding to news organisations, and introducing bursary and scholarship schemes for journalists starting off their careers.

The party said the work of the Print Journalism Unit could be funded by ring-fencing Exchequer VAT receipts from newspaper sales, at about €27million, or by imposing a 6% digital advertising levy which, based on 2018 sales, would be around €30million a year.

Mr Dooley said: ‘Quality journalism, the bedrock upon which people are informed in order to make decisions for themselves, is currently jeopardised by a significant downturn in revenues for news publishers in Ireland.

‘The figures are stark: National newspaper circulation is down 50% over the past 10 years, and down 35% for local newspapers.’

He added: ‘Many print newspapers see their work being shared freely on digital platforms. They receive no payment for this content, and this needs fixing.

‘Those reusing their work must pay for that, otherwise we risk seeing newspapers go bust,’ he said, calling out Facebook and Google as the biggest offenders in this area.

A NEW Fianna Fáil policy document seeks to support and sustain high-quality journalism, and while some of the ideas might need tweaking, it is heartening to see a major political party recognising the importance to democracy and to our society of journalism – and print journalism in particular.

In the era of social media-driven fake news, the initiative is very much to be applauded. We need strong measures to support quality campaigning journalism of the kind this newspaper is proud to bring to you every day.