Ireland

About this Country

Media Literacy in Ireland: a contextual overview

The Broadcasting Act 2009 established the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as a single content regulator, assuming the roles previously held by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC), as well as a range of new functions, primarily relating to the oversight of public service broadcasters.

The Broadcasting Act provides a new role for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in promoting Media Literacy. Under the Act the BAI are given ancillary functions to encourage and foster research and to undertake measures and activities which are directed towards the promotion of media literacy. The Act also provides that the Broadcasting Funding Scheme may support new television or radio programmes to improve media literacy.

Included in its remit are other measures supporting public needs such as the establishment by RTÉ and TG4 of Audience Councils to represent the views of listeners and viewers, and a ‘right of reply’ mechanism whereby individuals who feel their reputations have been damaged may have this corrected in a further broadcast. The Act also enables some new approaches in relation to codes and rules for broadcasting in Ireland, in particular relating to food advertising aimed at children.

How is it defined?

Media literacy, understood as ‘the ability to use, understand and create media and communications’ is widely accepted as an operational definition by government, educational and NGO organisations.

In the Broadcasting Act, Media Literacy is formally defined as follows:

'media literacy' means to bring about a better public understanding of:

• the nature and characteristics of material published by means of broadcast and related electronic media,
• the processes by which such material is selected, or made available, for publication by broadcast and related electronic media,
• the processes by which individuals and communities can create and publish audio or audio-visual material by means of broadcast and related electronic media, and
• the available systems by which access to material published by means of broadcast and related electronic media is or can be regulated”

What other ‘literacies’ share areas of common interest with ‘media literacy’ in Ireland?

Digital literacy shares much common ground with media literacy particularly within the educational sphere and has been a focus of government policy for over a decade. The National Centre for Technology in Education is an Irish Government agency established to promote digital literacy and to provide advice, support and information on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education. NCTE operates the Schools Broadband Programme which connects 97% of schools in Ireland to the Internet. Its role is to enhance ICT in schools through the provision of a faster and secure network and online services.

The National Council for Curriculum Assessment has devised a new ICT Framework for schools supporting digital literacy. The framework is a structured approach to ICT in curriculum and assessment. It identifies the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and skills for ICT which all students should be enabled to attain from primary to the end of junior cycle/compulsory education. It is a cross-curricular 'scaffold' - a practical tool to support teachers in planning and providing opportunities for students to develop their ICT literacy across the curriculum.

Provision for media literacy within the educational curriculum is assuming greater importance. Media literacy is part of the national curriculum at both primary and secondary levels. Its delivery is uneven as individual schools have autonomy in how much emphasis to give to media topics.

What are the relevant key contextual factors and developments in Ireland?

Market:
Public broadcaster Raidio Teilefis Eireann (RTE) dominates the radio and TV sector. It provides a comprehensive service in English and Irish.
TV3, the main commercial TV station, opened in 1998.

Competition for domestic broadcasters comes from British public and private terrestrial TV channels. Satellite stations, including those carried by Britain's BSkyB, are widely available. There is extensive take-up of cable TV.

The Irish print and broadcast media operate freely within the confines of the law. Broadcasting - commercial and public - is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The Competition Authority safeguards against unfair competition in the press sector.

Cross-media ownership is permitted within limits - press groups may own up to 25% of local radio and TV stations.

Ireland plans to launch digital terrestrial TV and aims to switch off analogue TV transmissions in 2012.

Social:
Ireland has experienced a decade of rapid social change which was dubbed the ‘Celtic Tiger’. The population in Ireland increased by 15.7% to 4.24 million in the period 1997-2006. This was the second highest rate of increase in the EU 27 behind Cyprus. Population growth is due to an increase in immigration and a rising fertility rate. There has been net migration into Ireland in each year since 1997. The level of net inward migration increased from 19,200 in 1997 to 69,900 in 2006. Ireland is one of the most globalised economy in the world, and has consolidated this position over the past two decades, during which aggregate living standards in Ireland to converge to those of the world’s leading economies. The cost of living also rose dramatically in Ireland during this period. In the first half of the 1990s, price levels in Ireland were below the EU 25 average. Since 1995, Ireland has become considerably more expensive and by 2003 our price level was 25.7% above the EU 25 average.

Large immigration following the economic boom and shifting patterns in global migration since the late 1990s have led to a major transformation in the the structure of the society. According to the 2006 Census, 11% of people living in Ireland were non-nationals. Irish media have sought to reflect this transformation through increased representation of migrant peoples on television and radio. Numerous governmental and NGO anti-racism initiatives have developed up to combat racism and support migrant communities.

Policy:
Ireland’s economic and social vision for 2016 is to be Europe’s premier knowledge society with developments in ICT at the core of socio-economic progress. In a relatively short space of time Ireland had evolved from a traditional, agrarian society on the periphery of Europe to a major player in the global information economy. Ireland is a European hub for many of the world’s leading IT and software companies. ICT industries were recognised as the prime driver of economic growth and engine of the Celtic Tiger economy. There is a gap, however, between the stated national and EU policy prioritisation of information society and e-inclusion and political commitment and action.

Learning:
Ireland has a high level of educational attainment among the adult population (age group 25-64) and in a recent report was ranked 8th of 32 countries for this indicator (OECD, 2005). Census statistics for 2002 showed that 12.8% of the population had a university degree as their highest level of education. More than 86% of persons aged 20-24 in 2006 had completed second level education or higher. This figure decreased for older age groups down to 41.8% of persons aged 55-64.

Ireland ranks fourth in the OECD in terms of the increase in third level education enrolments since 1995. In 2006, 40.2% of the population aged 25-34 in Ireland had 3rd level education compared with 28.6% across the EU 27. Over the period 1999-2006, the proportion of females aged 25-34 in Ireland with 3rd level education rose from 27.5% in 1999 to 46.9% in 2006.

Regulatory:
Broadcasting in Ireland is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) established on October 1st 2009, as an independent regulator for radio and television broadcasters in Ireland. The BAI has a range of objectives and functions. In carrying out its functions, the BAI must make sure that its approach to regulation is proportionate and takes into account the range and type of broadcasting services in Ireland. The BAI has a responsibility to ensure that broadcast regulation is stable. The Authority also has a role to play in encouraging technological development in the broadcasting sector. The roles and responsibilities of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are set out in the Broadcasting Act 2009. The Authority is funded through a levy on all broadcasters licensed in the State.

The Office of the Press Ombudsman was established as part of a new system of independent regulation for the printed media in Ireland. The Ombudsman investigates complaints that breach a new Code of Practice which the press industry signed up to in 2007 providing the public with a quick, fair and free method of resolving any complaints they may have in relation to newspapers and periodicals that breach the Code.

The Information Society Commission (ISC) was established in 1999 as an independent advisory body to Government, reporting directly to the Taoiseach. It drew on high-level representation from the business community, social partners, and government members and was charged with the task of shaping the evolving public policy framework for the Information Society in Ireland. The Commission produced a series of reports and recommendations on building an inclusive information society and for improving broadband infrastructure. The Commission was wound down in 2004 and its functions subsumed within the Department of the Taoiseach.

The National Centre for Technology in Education is an Irish Government agency established to provide advice, support and information on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education. NCTE operates the Schools Broadband Programme which connects 97% of schools in Ireland to the Internet. Its role is to enhance ICT in schools through the provision of a faster and secure network and online services.

How do these affect the development of media literacy?

Public policy towards media literacy is still at an early stage of development in Ireland. A research report by the Dublin Institute of Technology in 2008 made a series of recommendations regarding the development of public policy for media literacy in Ireland. Anticipating the Broadcasting Act, 2009, the report examined some of the ways in which Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) would undertake activities to promote media literacy, including co-operation with broadcasters, educationalists and other relevant people or groups.

A key part of the research was to seek public attitudes toward media literacy in Ireland. In a series of focus groups the researchers found that the level of skills and experience with different types of media varied greatly. Levels of experience with new interactive media (i.e. interactive television, Internet, participation in virtual communities) also varied considerably dependent on age, interest, and access to technology and infrastructure.

On the issue of critical media awareness, that is the degree to which members of the public display a critical attitude to media as regards both quality and accuracy of content, the research demonstrated only an informal awareness. Similarly the research underscored a limited understanding of issues of media ownership and control and its implications for citizens and consumers.

Recommendations included the establishment of an Irish media literacy expert group to advise on definitions, strategies and new developments in relation to media literacy. The report also stresses the importance of a partnership approach and the involvement of a diverse range of interests as key to the successful implementation of media literacy promotion. It argues that media literacy education needs to encompass both formal education settings as well as a host of adult learning environments.

Commenting on the research recommendations, Michael O’Keeffe Chief Executive of the BCI said “The research undertaken by the CSER and funded by the BCI clearly outlines the importance of having a clear definition and understanding of what media literacy is from a policy development perspective. One of the major challenges facing the BAI will be in determining degrees of media literacy, in order to develop an integrated approach to its promotion in Ireland. It will be important for the BAI to ensure that as new services and platforms develop, so too will the requirement for measures to be put in place to ensure that consumers and users are informed and better enabled to cope in an increasingly complex and dynamic environment.”