The press in Northern Ireland

Michał Kaczmarczyk

The mass media in Northern Ireland remain within the realm of influence of the two domestic media systems, namely British and Irish. Both systems are generally acknowledged as the liberal (North Atlantic) media model. The media of Northern Ireland, classified as liberal systems, derive the majority of the features from the British model. Yet, certain differences between the classical North Atlantic model and its Northern Irish counterpart can be identified. They stem from both the influences of the media phenomena, which are characteristic of the Republic of Ireland, where the media system is significantly different from the British model, as well as Northern Ireland specific historical and political factors determining the unique nature of this region, also in its media dimension. This article constitutes an attempt at describing one of the areas of the media system of Northern Ireland, i.e. the press system. The author describes the daily press and the Ulster local press markets, and discusses the individual titles, their history, editorial policies, ideological profile and position within the mass media system. He also introduces the most characteristic phenomena on the Northern Ireland press market by discussing their origins and contemporary manifestations.

KEYWORDS

Northern Ireland, Ulster, media system, press