Media

Susan McKay: Press Ombudsman appointment is positive for women

Journalist says women of her age are often passed over for ‘big, responsible public jobs’ in spite of their experience

Susan McKay: 'I think it is really fantastic when women get into big, responsible public jobs'. File photograph: Alan Betson

Olivia Kelleher
Sun Jul 17 2022 - 12:42

Award-winning journalist Susan McKay said her appointment as Press Ombudsman from October has sent out a positive message to women.

In an interview on Sunday with Miriam on RTÉ Radio 1, the Derry native said she is delighted to be the first woman to fill the role given that women of her age are often passed over for “big, responsible public jobs” in spite of their wealth of experience.

“I think it is really fantastic when women get into big, responsible public jobs. It is good for younger women because it shows them that women can aspire to have those kind of jobs.

“But it is also good for older women because there has always been a sense in Ireland, as elsewhere, that men get distinguished as they get older and women get past it. It is really nice to be an older woman who has got a responsible job. And I know so many older women in their sixties and older who are well able for big responsible jobs and are being passed over for them. "

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However, she said it is a “really good time for feminists” in Ireland as women in sport are more recognised while so many of our top writers are “acknowledged to be women”.

“I hope I bring the sense of justice that is at the heart of feminism to my new role.”

Ms McKay, who is also the author of several acclaimed books, says the primary threat to journalism is the unregulated social media sector that “lifts stuff” from the print media and publishes it without paying fees.

“There is going to be a media authority which the Press Council and the Ombudsman’s Office will have a relationship with. But it is very problematic, and most advertising revenue is now going to social media. In fact the income of the Press Council is considerably less than it was in 2008 when it was set up,” she said.

“My predecessor, Peter Feeney, in his latest submission to the Media Commission [was] sort of asking for urgent attention to be paid for the model of funding for print media. Online funding is also now covered by the Office of the Press Ombudsman. Obviously now there is a lot of convergence across the different platforms. There is a lot to look at there and a lot of things we need to keep an eye on.”

Ms McKay said that obviously the loss of revenue to print media is “bad news for standards” because it means journalists are being expected to do far more with less resources.

“That can be detrimental to producing work of the highest standards. "

Ms McKay said the voluntary model of press regulation in this country is internationally respected.

“You know, the UK in particular ... they have had a much more difficult situation with press regulation following the scandals that led to the Leveson Inquiry. In Ireland we have a voluntary model where the media have joined up with the Press Council and have signed up to a Code of Practice, and my role will be to interpret that Code of Practice and to ensure that good journalism is allowed to thrive and that bad journalism gets noted and that it is stopped.”

The former CEO of the National Woman’s Council of Ireland noted the job of a journalist has become far more varied since when she entered journalism in the 1990s.

“There is fantastic journalism being produced in Ireland at the moment. But a lot of journalists are very stressed because they are expected to attend to a lot of different platforms,” Ms McKay said.

“They are expected to run a 24-hour cycle of news. They are expected to be able to take photographs. They are expected to do stuff to camera. They are supposed to tweet. They are supposed to be on Facebook.

“In the nineties I would go off to some part of the country where a tragedy occurred, and I would have time to sit in a cafe and listen to people talking and get an atmosphere of the place. It was pressured, but it wasn’t as pressured as now,” she said.

“That said, I think there is excellent journalism being produced.”

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