Understanding Media

Media literacy is the key to empowering citizens with the skills and knowledge to understand traditional and new media and communications services, including radio, television, online and mobile platforms and content, cinema and press. It also enables citizens to engage creatively and safely with these different types of media and communication services.

The BAI has an obligation to undertake, encourage and foster research and activities to promote media literacy in Ireland. For this reason, it has developed its Media Literacy Policy. This policy sets out the media literacy skills which the BAI has identified as essential for navigating the current and emerging technological, media and social environment.

Understanding media empowers individuals and audiences. The BAI develops and publishes broadcasting standards, codes and rules, in consultation with the public, which promote responsible broadcasting and ensure audiences can input into what they believe are acceptable standards on television and radio.

Broadcasting has enormous potential to open windows on the world, to open awareness of new and emerging ideas and to open minds.

Research

Evidence-based decision making is a cornerstone of the work of the BAI, and everything that we do is informed by sound data, information and knowledge, garnered through research, consultation and/or experience. Examples of BAI recent research activities have included a collaboration with the Irish Film Institute examining Media Usage in teens and pre-teens; research into public attitudes regarding Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs and research on the Representation of People with Disabilities in Broadcast Media.

Viewer & Listener Statistics

JNLR/Ipsos MRBI reports into radio listening in Ireland are regularly published and provide information on listenership and viewership figures across the country.

Neilsen data also tracks television viewership across a sample population.

The reports published for viewer and listener statistics can be found in the publications section.

We support the broadcasting industry in the promotion of media literacy through funding initiatives, development supports and sponsorship opportunities.

Examples include the MEDIA Desk Ireland’s ‘Media Literacy – A Critical Moment’ conference in 2011 and the CRAOL conference on media literacy in March 2014, funded through our Sectoral Development Activities.

The BAI also funds the development and review of FETAC accredited media literacy training for community radio trainers as well as funding of the annual Community Radio Training Féile.

Consultations: The BAI engages with the public, broadcasters and other stakeholders in a variety of ways to enable informed involvement in the discussion and debate on broadcasting regulation and their expectations of Irish broadcasters. Consultation helps the BAI make informed decisions that take into consideration a range of views and opinions of interested parties. The BAI seeks input from its stakeholders through a range of methods (e.g formal written consultations, meetings, focus groups, interviews and surveys). We consult on many areas of our work, including the development of codes and rules, our Strategy as a regulator and our promotion of the Irish Language.

Creating content: Understanding media is also about understanding how to create, access and share media through various platforms and formats and the BAI works with a number of networks through its Funding and Development function to support public access to content creation.

Media Literacy Ireland (MLI) is an independent alliance of people and organisations working together on a voluntary basis and facilitated by the BAI, to promote media literacy in Ireland. A copy of MLI’s Terms of Reference, which sets out details on the structure, aims and operation of the organisation, is available here.

More information is available on the MLI website where interested parties can sign up as members. Membership is open to both individuals and organisations who are working to achieve any of the outcomes identified in the BAI’s Media Literacy policy.

The Broadcasting Sustainability Network aims to bring together the radio and television sector, programme makers, and their supply chain associates with a view to fostering and supporting sustainability in broadcasting, instigating positive action across society, and to be a forum for collaboration and partnerships.

The Network was established by the BAI in late 2019, following consultation with the sector. The BAI appointed independent consultants SustainabilityWorks as the Network coordinator, with the remit to establish and coordinate the Network.  A steering committee comprising of network representatives has been established to develop and support the network. Members of the steering committee include: the BAI; RTÉ; TG4; Wireless Ltd; Communicorp; CRAOL; Flirt FM; Beat FM; Screen Producers Ireland; Screen Ireland; the Radio Kerry Group; and South East Radio.

A Roadmap has been developed to support individual organisations in the Broadcasting industry to develop their own sustainability plan, and secondly to create a collective approach to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Please find the Roadmap here.

Please find a video vision of the Network here.

The Media Ownership Ireland website is designed and maintained by staff at the DCU School of Communications.

The project is an initiative of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) in the context of its statutory requirement to conduct research relating to the plurality of the media in Ireland and to publish such research.

The BAI is committed to developing this database when it published its Media Plurality Policy in 2019 and the database is framed by the definition of “media business” contained in this policy and the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 (the 2014 Act).

The database has been designed to be a useful reference point for the implementation of the Media Mergers section of the 2014 Act, in particular, the BAI’s requirement to produce a report every three years that provides an analysis of the impact of relevant ownership and control changes on the plurality of media in the state. Two such reports have been published to date (2015 and 2018) and a third one is due in 2021.

Advice

• EU Kids Online www.eukidsonline.net – EU Kids Online is a multinational research network.  It seeks to enhance knowledge of European children’s online opportunities, risks and safety.
• Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk is the UK media regulator.

Support

• The Office of Internet Safety: www.internetsafety.ie
• The Consumer Association: www.consumerhelp.ie

Education

• MediaWise is a media resource developed by Safefood to help children learn how the media works: www.mediawise.ie