Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922 (review)

Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922, by John Horgan, 217 pp. London and New York: Routledge, 2001. $23.95

Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922 evidences the author's deep understanding of the symbiotic relationship between Irish history and politics and the media that reflect and shape them. A serious historian who wants to trace the development of nationhood through media in Ireland, or indeed anyone interested in investigating the close connection between media and politics, will find Horgan's book indispensable. Horgan skillfully punctuates every crucial event in the development of the Irish media with its corresponding historical backgrounds to underline the political and social repercussions of each event.

Horgan's work examines the history of print and broadcast media both in the Republic and Northern Ireland during the past eight decades, and pays particular attention to out the symbiotic relationship between a community and its media. Horgan demonstrates not only how the media reflect, as well as inform, the social and political changes of the community they serve, but also the challenges that such changes dictate. Chapter by chapter, and almost decade by decade, Horgan's clear prose guides us through the intricacies of Irish politics and their reflection in the Irish media. Horgan tracks how electronic media slowly eroded the political power base of print media as politicians looked to new means to reach beyond local partisan newspapers.

Horgan presents the state of the Irish media from 1922 to 1931 as lopsided, reflecting the transitional phase of the new Irish government. The creation of the Irish Press by Eamon de Valéra in 1922 marks the beginning of the involvement of the Irish government in the field of media policy. Radio in this period was easily controlled by politicians and used to promote nationhood. Between 1931 to 1847, Horgan writes, question of freedom of expression and censorship in the media as a result of WWII, and a new role for radio dominated Irish media history; radio became a means of reaching out to the rest of the world, particularly to the Irish diaspora. The period 1947-1957 was a difficult one for Ireland, as the economy faltered and the political landscape changed; during this period, a new development in the Irish government's media policy is the establishment of the Irish News Agency. Another development was the appearance of a policy of media management, as the political affiliation of Irish journalists was followed by both domestic and foreign intelligence services. However, by the end of this period, Ireland saw a new political openness in radio toward the rest of the world.

Chapter four concentrates on television from 1957 to 1973 and how this new medium reflected deep cultural changes in Irish society at this time: Horgan recounts growing tensions between government and newscasters during this period. The outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in 1969 led to a ban on broadcasting of certain materials that lasted until 1994. The year 1973 proved to be a watershed in the development of print media with ownership changes both at the Irish Independent group and at the Irish Times; soon thereafter, the growth of pirate radio drove broadcasting policy to the top of the public agenda. Chapter seven (1995-2000) illustrates the effects of globalization on the Irish and United Kingdom media, both of which showed expansionary tendencies. While media groups from United Kingdom media purchased Irish titles, both national and provincial, the Independent group of Dublin purchased the Independent, a London newspaper.

Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922 ends by posing key questions on the role of media in Ireland in the future: issues of responsibility, control, and the rights of the media to the role of the media in the age of globalization. Horgan's book is an impressive scholarly accomplishment: it is a shrewd study of the social and political forces, both shaped by and reflected in the media, that have combined to produce...