New BAI research on impact of gender in Irish media consumption

New research from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland shows that, while Irish women are more likely than Irish men to share news, Irish men are more likely to share their opinions and comment on news stories. Whether this comes as a surprise or not we will leave to the reader!

Other findings from the report show that Ireland has a higher percentage of people who said they were ‘extremely’ or ‘very interested’ in news, at 70%. This figure is high compared with countries of a similar size like Denmark (51.5%), Austria (67%) and our neighbours in the UK (51.5%).

The report also found a disparity between formal education levels and trust of social media. Those who had low formal education levels (those who did not finish secondary school) are more likely to trust news material they see on social media, compared to those with high or medium formal education, who appeared to be more sceptical.

Just over 50% of women and men in Ireland said they could trust the media, compared to just 36% in the UK.

The BAI on Thursday last published research in factsheet format examining the role of gender and diversity in media consumption in Ireland and internationally. The research, entitled ‘Digital News Report: Gender & Diversity in Ireland 2016-2021 & Internationally 2021’, was led by assistant professor Dr Dawn Wheatley at Dublin City University.

In support of the BAI’s commitment to diversity, in 2021 this analysis examined the gendered aspects of interest and participation in news, as well as perception of gender in the news. Where possible, the research also examined these matters in the context of socio-economic class categories.