Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Committee on Public Petitions

Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman Annual Report 2021: Press Ombudsman

Photo of Fintan WarfieldFintan Warfield (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media. We recently had hearings about diversity in the press in which a young woman from the National Youth Council, Ms Ashley Chadamoyo Makombe, appeared. I will put her reflections on the record again though they are already on the record of the House.

I can only speak from my personal experience as a young woman. As someone who is from Tallaght and who is black, I was not seeing myself represented in traditional media, so, naturally, I will go to where I can see my people and where I can hear my voice and my life experience being reflected. Unfortunately, the reality is that it is not being reflected in traditional media in Ireland. That is not to say that there is no bias. I have great trust in media in Ireland. I believe what I see when I see it on TV or when I read it in newspapers. I think the content is not being made for young people so they will go to where it will be.

Does Ms McKay think diversity is an issue or does she have any comment to make about diversity in the press and with respect to the membership of the Press Council?