Dr. Julien Mercille:

Again, one significant fact here is that we do not have a left of centre media outlet in the mainstream. We do not have the equivalent of The Guardianin London, for example. Many other countries have something like that so, in that way, Ireland would be more conservative in the media landscape and perhaps a little more like the US in that regard. We hear all the time about balanced reporting and fairness and that is what people learn in journalism school but that is not the way to put it. It is about reporting the truth. To give an example that is a little out there, one could report in one's article that there are very good things about Nazi Germany and the reasons. However, if some people do not like it, it would be weird. It is about telling the truth as far as one can determine it. Sometimes it is a grey area. There are various viewpoints and, therefore, it is not just about being balanced. It is more about telling what people care about and the media are good at that. When we talk about the influence of readers, the media pays attention-----