Justine McCarthy: Distorted view of media not helped by exodus of journalists into government pay

During goodbye drinks for a former colleague some years ago, the departing journalist took me aside to offer friendly career advice. If you want to fit in, stop covering stories you think are important and follow the consensus news agenda, he warned me. He meant it helpfully. But I felt my soul shrivel as I watched him rejoin the others at the bar raising a glass to his departure from the Fourth Estate. He had been a reliable reporter and would be a loss to journalism. That former colleague was part of a traditional trickle of journalists crossing the Rubicon to trade in the dark art of spin-doctoring.

In the early years, such moves were rare and seldom and, thus, seemed wonderful. But the trickle has turned into a flood.

Currently, there are 12 former journalists employed as ministers’ advisers. Eight of them were previously based in Leinster House as political editors, correspondents and reporters. Another was the editor of a daily newspaper. No doubt, each one had good personal reasons for changing careers – financial necessity, ambition to work inside the system, family responsibilities, even altruistic belief in public service – but the cumulative effect is damaging the perception of Irish journalism and that has repercussions for the common good.

When those who are supposed to be the watchdogs for the public interest become the guard-dogs at the gates of government, a country’s conversation becomes vulnerable to the dog that barks the loudest. Some exceptionally talented former political correspondents now ply their skills to enhance their ministers’ profiles, limit the damage caused by bad publicity and divert media attention by feeding fresh angles in off-the-record briefings or leaking stories to people they once worked alongside on the press gallery. They are not doing anything dishonest but facts are malleable and their new occupation is to make them as potent or impotent as needs be.

We need to talk about why we’re all so angry

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Journalists’ departure

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Justine McCarthy: Distorted view of media not helped by exodus of journalists into government pay

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Four years ago, we were clapping health workers in the street. Now we’re reducing their benefits

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[ The people behind the power: Who are Ireland’s political advisers and backroom experts? ]

A Worlds of Journalism survey reported in 2023 that Irish journalists aged between 30 and 49, the stage in life when family pressures are acute, were most tempted of all Irish journalists to leave the sector

Critics of the so-called “mainstream media” are wont to castigate journalists as politicians’ nodding dogs. Mere note-takers for government propaganda. If I had a euro for every time since the RTÉ controversy erupted last year that I’ve heard someone falsely claim the national broadcaster only reports news dictated to it by politicians, I could buy Versailles. Yet that distorted view is being oxygenated by the current exodus of journalists into government’s pay.

“Political class seducing journalists with plum jobs is bad for Ireland,” Hermann Kelly, the leader of the anti-immigration Irish Freedom Party, said on X. “Journalists working for government ministers has recently become a definite career path which is harmful for those whose job [is] to ask hard questions to [sic] those in power.” Though Kelly is, himself, a former deputy editor with the Irish Catholic who went to work as a press officer for Nigel Farage’s political group it’s hard to disagree with his analysis.

Why, you might ask, would anyone quit a relatively low-paid job in the precarious world of news media with its bottlenecks for promotion to toil instead for a handsome salary on what has been called the merry-go-round of political power? Why eat rump steak when you can have rib-eye while enjoying the cabaret? As Kelly said: “Because I had kids I had to pack up because journalism is not highly paid.” A Worlds of Journalism survey reported in 2023 that Irish journalists aged between 30 and 49, the stage in life when family pressures are acute, were most tempted of all Irish journalists to leave the sector.

[ ‘Political advisers are like poisoners: either famous or good at their job’ ]

We are living in an age when misinformation poses a mortal threat to democracy. Whether it is Russia disseminating lies online to influence US and European elections, or deniers of established truths peddling their batty conspiracy theories or our own home-grown hate mongers, truth is the great casualty of our era. The only way to counteract misinformation is with facts. Establishing the facts is the job of journalists. Massaging them by putting a positive spin on them is the job of the spindoctor. The professional motivation of the two roles is as antithetical as that of the comedian and the tragedian.

The parade of journalists from Leinster House into Government Buildings has the potential to further erode public trust in the media. Though the 12 former journalists currently working for ministers are decent individuals who have demonstrated integrity in their work on both sides of the divide, the sheer number involved lends credence to critics’ allegation of a “cosy relationship” between reporters and politicians. Quite simply, it looks incestuous.

Both the intimacy of Leinster House with its 200 TDs and senators and the need for journalists to schmooze politicians for information create an environment where the dividing line is easily crossed

Most political journalists based in Leinster House work hard and to a high standard, as did those who accepted job offers from Cabinet ministers. But, as in every job, there are exceptions. A small minority has regularly socialised with TDs and, in one case I know of, a reporter went on a foreign holiday in a group featuring a prominent politician. How can the media hold power to account when the hound is partying with the fox?

[ Two thirds of political and media advisers recruited by government are paid more than €100,000 ]

Both the intimacy of Leinster House with its 200 TDs and senators and the need for journalists to schmooze politicians for information create an environment where the dividing line is easily crossed. In that clubby atmosphere, jobs get offered and accepted. The time has come for media organisations to impose specific rules of conduct for its journalists working in the national parliament building.

Time, too, for the media to impose the same gardening-leave for journalists who want to return to the fold after working for government that it demands of politicians who become lobbyists after life in Leinster House. Amid a frightening and growing public distrust of journalism, the truth must not only be told – it must be seen to be told.