A LEADING EU broadcaster has said Irish media companies need to have a better focus on Europe and has called for a public, ring-fenced fund to be established in order to support it.

Karen Coleman, editor of the Irish section of EU News Radio (a public-service broadcaster focused on European news) said that there is a “dwindling pool” of Irish journalists based in Brussels.

Coleman said one solution to tackle the lack of information around Europe was to establish of an “Irish Politico” - which would provide consistent and unbiased information regarding the workings of the EU.

“A media resource populated by journalists […] who can really get under the skin of what is going on at an EU level. We need much more scrutiny of what our MEPs are doing, of what the European Commission are doing,” Coleman said.

Speaking at a joint event hosted by The Journal and the University of Limerick ahead of the European elections on 7 June, Coleman said that with so much legislation now coming from the EU, the bloc has more of an impact on the daily lives of voters.

The veteran EU journalist did acknowledge how complex the inner workings of the institutions are, adding that often the legislation can feel “very cumbersome and heavy”. But Coleman said the public cannot rely on politicians to serve them that information.

We need media and we need strong, good journalists out there who really understand it and who are able to communicate this back home.”

Coleman reasoned that these resources in the media are particularly needed as the next make up of the European Parliament is likely to “push back” on progressive legislation around immigration, climate change and have more sceptics of the EU gaining seats.

***

This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work are the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.