Ireland's social, cultural, religious and political ethos has restricted the country's press freedom. This ethos, combined with a long history of colonialism, could mean that Irish journalists would have low levels of professionalism and of professional efficacy. This research attempted to determine how Irish journalists rated on professionalism and efficacy. Primary and secondary sources were used. A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of Irish journalists found that they rate high on both levels of professionalism and nonprofessionalism. They also rate high on levels of professional efficacy. However, a halo effect may be manifest as the measures are not flawless.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allison, Marianne (1986) 'A Literature Review of Approaches to the Professionalism of Journalists'. Journal of Mass Media Ethics1(2): 5-19.
2.
Ashdown, Paul (1982) 'Ireland'. In: George Kurian (Ed.), The World Press Encyclopedia (New York: Facts on File, Inc.): 509-516.
3.
Ashdown, Paul (1991a) 'Irish Weeklies Thriving'. Grassroots Editor: 9, 15.
Barber, Bernard (1963) 'Some Problems in the Sociology of the Professions' . Daedalus92: 669-688.
6.
Beam, Randal A. (1990) 'Journalism Professionalism as an Organizational-Level Concept'. Journalism Monographs121: 1-43.
7.
Bell, Brian (Ed.) (1990) Ireland (Hong Kong: APA Publications Ltd .).
8.
Bell, Desmond & Meehan, Niall (1988) 'International Telecommunications Deregulation and Ireland's Domestic Communications Policy'. Journal of Communication38(1): 70-84.
9.
Birkhead, Douglas (1986) 'News Media Ethics and the Management of Professionals' . Journal of Mass Media Ethics1(2):37-46.
10.
Blankenburg, William B. (September 1974) 'How Editors Regard Contests'. APME News76: 1,8-9.
11.
Boyle, Kevin & McGonagle, Marie (1988) A Report on Press Freedom and Libel (Dublin, Ireland: National Newspapers of Ireland).
12.
Boyer, John H. (1981) 'How Editors View Objectivity'. Journalism Quarterly58(1): 24-29.
13.
Browne, Vincent, former founder/editor of Magill and publisher/editor of the Sunday Tribune, Dublin . Personal interview with the author, Dublin, December 12, 1990.
14.
Buckley, Don, deputy news editor with special responsibility for investigations, the Irish Times, Dublin. Personal interview with the author, Dublin, December 7, 1990.
15.
Chubb, Basil (1970) The Government and Politics of Ireland (Oxford: Oxford University Press): pp. 130-133.
16.
Coldwell, Thomas (1974) 'Professionalization and Performance Among Newspaper Photographers'. Gazette20(2): 73-81.
17.
Coone, Tim (1991) 'School for scandal'. The Financial Times (London), November 1: 17.
18.
Coulson, David C. (1989) 'Editors' Attitudes and Behavior Toward Journalism Awards'. Journalism Quarterly66(1): 143-147.
19.
Culbertson, Hugh (1983) 'Three Perspectives on American Journalism'. Journalism Monographs83: 1-33.
20.
Day, J. Laurence (1968) 'The Latin American Journalist: A Tentative Profile' . Journalism Quarterly45(3): 509-515.
21.
Donsbach, Wolfgang (1981) 'Legitimacy Through Competence Rather Than Value Judgments: The Concept of Journalistic Professionalization Reconsidered'. Gazette27(1): 47-67.
22.
Dunne, Patsy.National Union of Journalists, Dublin. Telephone interview with the author, January 10, 1992 .
23.
Farrell, Brian (1978) 'The Mass Media and the 1977 Campaign'. In: Howard R. Penniman (Ed.), Ireland at the Polls: The Dail Elections of 1977 (Washington, D.C. : American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research ): pp. 97-112.
24.
Feeney, Peter, editor of Current Affairs, Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE), Dublin. Personal interview with the author, Dublin, December 4, 1990.
25.
Garrison, Bruce & Salwen, Michael B. (1989) 'Professional Orientations of Sports Journalists: A Study of Associated Press Sports Editors'. Newspaper Research Journal10(4): 77-84.
Harless, James D. (1990) 'Media Ethics, Ideology, and Personal Constructs: Mapping Professional Enigmas'. Journal of Mass Media Ethics5(4): 217-232.
28.
Harman, Alan (1991) 'What's read in Ireland'. Editor & Publisher, December 28: 31.
29.
Head, Sydney W. (1963) 'Can a Journalist Be a 'Professional' in a Developing Country?' Journalism Quarterly40(4): 594-598.
30.
Henningham, J.P. (1984a) 'Comparisons Between Three Versions of the Professional Orientation Index'. Journalism Quarterly61(2): 302-309.
31.
Henningham, J.P. (1984b) 'Comparisons Between Australian and U.S. Broadcast Journalists' Professional Values'. Journal of Broadcasting28(1): 323-331.
32.
Hodges, Louis W. (1986) 'The Journalist and Professionalism'. Journal of Mass Media Ethics1(2): 32-36.
33.
Hoffman, Mark S. (1992), (ed.), The World Almanac and Book of Facts (New York: Pharos Books ): p. 771.
34.
Horta-Menanteau, Dario (1967) 'Professionalism of Journalists in Santiago de Chile'. Journalism Quarterly44(4): 715-724.
35.
Idsvoog, Karl A. & Hoyt, James L. (1977) 'Professionalism and Performance of Television Journalists'. Journal of Broadcasting21(1): 97-109.
36.
Ingle, Bob (Fall-Winter 1982) 'We're Drowning in a Sea of Media Awards' . The Masthead: 17-18.
37.
Janowitz, Morris (1975) 'Professional Models in Journalism: The Gatekeeper and the Advocate'. Journalism Quarterly52(4): 618-626, 662.
38.
Johnstone, John W.C., Slawski, Edward J. & Bowman, William W. (1972-1973) 'The Professional Values of American Newsmen'. Public Opinion Quarterly36(4): 522-540.
39.
Kaul, Arthur J. (1986) 'The Proletarian Journalist: A Critique of Professionalism' . Journal of Mass Media Ethics1(2): 47-55.
40.
Keatinge, Patrick (1973) The Formulation of Irish Foreign Policy (Dublin: Institute of Public Administration ): pp. 178-184.
41.
Kim, Chong Lim & Oh, Jin Hwan (1974) 'Perceptions of Professional Efficacy among Journalists in a Developing Country'. Journalism Quarterly51(1): 73-78.
42.
Kosicki, Gerald M., Dunwoody, Sharon & Beam, Randal A. (1985) 'Individual and Organizational Predictions of Journalistic Prize-Seeking'. Paper presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Tennessee. Cited in Coulson (op. cit.).
43.
Lattimore, Dan L. & Nayman, Oguz B. (1974) 'Professionalism of Colorado's Daily Newsmen: A Communicator Analysis'. Gazette20(1): 1-10.
44.
McLeod, Jack M. & Hawley, Jr., Searle E. (1964) 'Professionalization among Newsmen'. Journalism Quarterly41(4): 529-538, 577.
45.
McLeod, Jack M. & Rush, Ramona R. (1969) 'Professionalization of Latin American and U.S. Journalists'. Part One. Journalism Quarterly46(3): 583-590.
46.
McNichol, Tom (July 1986) 'Proliferating Prizes: Too Much of a Good Thing'? Washington Journalism Review: 35-37.
47.
Merrill, John C., Bryan, Carter R. & Alisky, Marvin ( 1975 ) 'Ireland'. The Foreign Press: A Survey of the World's Journalism (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press): pp. 100-102.
48.
Merrill, John C. (1986) 'Professionalization: Danger to Press Freedom and Pluralism'. Journal of Mass Media Ethics1(2): 56-60.
49.
Milmo, Sean (1984) 'Consistency, tradition keep Irish Times strong' . Advertising Age, January 30: M38-M39.
50.
Nayman, Oguz B. (1973) 'Professional Orientations of Journalists: An Introduction to Communicator Analysis Studies'. Gazette19(4): 195-212.
51.
O'Donnell, James (1991), editor-in-chief, Administration Yearbook & Diary (Dublin: Institute of Public Administration): 154, 215.
52.
Oram, Hugh (1983) The Newspaper Book: A History of Newspapers in Ireland 1649-1983 (Dublin: MO Books ).
53.
Protess, David L., Cook, Fay Lomax, Doppelt, Jack C. et al., (1991) The Journalism of Outrage: Investigative Reporting and Agenda Building in America (New York: The Guilford Press): p. 279.
54.
Rothmyer, Karen (1990) 'Winning Pulitzers'. Media History Digest10(2): 45-59.
55.
Schwartz, Stuart H. (1979) 'Inner-Directed and Other-Directed Values of Professional Journalists'. Journalism Quarterly55(4): 721-725, 754.
56.
Singletary, Michael W. (1982) 'Commentary: Are Journalists "Professionals"?'. Newspaper Research Journal3(2): 75-87.
57.
Soloski, John (1989) 'News reporting and professionalism: Some constraints on the reporting of the news'. Media, Culture and Society11(2): 207-228.
58.
Stalberg, Zachary (December/January 1981) 'Should there be more prize categories ?' ASNE Bulletin:10-12.
59.
Stein, M.L. (1981) 'Ombudsman defends his role in the Janet Cooke affair'. Editor & Publisher, May 30: 20.
