A new series celebrating the role of the local newspaper industry in Irish life starts on RTÉ One this Thursday. The Local Eye is a six-part series following the fortunes of three regional newspapers – The Clare Champion, The Mayo News and The Munster Express – as they carve out a new space for themselves in a world of 24/7 news delivered on social media.
All three newspapers remain family-owned. Millions of Irish people turn to their local paper for the news that’s relevant to them and their community each week. Many have been in existence for well over a century, embedded in the hearts of their local areas and seeking out the stories that matter to their readers that can often be overlooked by the national press.
The Local Eye profiles the work of these institutions as they indefatigably tell their region’s stories and fight for their local areas. Produced and directed by Gerry Reynolds, the series aims to give viewers an insight into the cut and thrust of creating a local newspaper, following the editors, reporters and staff as they break big stories and push deadlines to the edge.
Journalism is not always a serious business and local reporters get pleasure from sourcing quirky and colourful tales. From the sporting triumphs to the terrible tragedies; the publicity hungry local councillors to the news about neighbours, notices and events; the poems, parish news and births and deaths, the series reveals what makes local newspapers tick.
The Mayo News: Founded in 1892, The Mayo News is owned by the Berry family and throughout its 123-year history has always been independently run. Based in Westport, the newspaper is the only independently owned and managed title in its circulation region, a fact the staff describe as being an advantage at times, but also one that brings challenges.
The autonomy, along with plenty of creative editorial thinking across news and sport, emphasis on design and layout and the teamwork which goes into producing the compact size weekly edition in three distinct pullout sections, saw The Mayo News honoured as the European Local Newspaper of the Year in 2007 and 2014.
The Clare Champion: In March 1903, The Clare Champion rose from the ashes of The Clare Man newspaper, which had succumbed to a costly libel action, with editor Tom Galvin and his staff producing the paper despite having access to little machinery. In his first Champion editorial, Galvin promised that: “the wants of the people will be firmly espoused in our columns until their grievances are redressed”, a tradition that continues to this day.
The Clare Champion has remained in the Galvin family since the start.
The Munster Express: The Munster Express is 155 years old and based in Waterford. The family-owned, weekly covers a large area of the south-east of Ireland. Edward Walsh, who became Mayor of Waterford, bought the newspaper in the early 1900s. His son, JJ Walsh, became editor and managing director in the late 1940s. JJ went on to become one of Ireland’s best known newspaper editors. His son, Kieran, is now editor and managing director.
It was one of the first regional newspapers in Ireland to have its own website.
The Local Eye starts on RTÉ One on Thursday, November 12 at 7pm
