Former Mayo editor fighting for survival of local media

A RETIRED Mayo newspaper editor has called on the government to address the threat of social media superpowers to the future of the published media in Ireland.

Ballina author and media consultant Terry Reilly, who was editor of The Western People for over 30 years, said the values of truth and democracy are undermined by the influence of Facebook, TicTok, Instagram, Twitter (X) and Goggle.

He said while media organisations are forced to use these platforms to maintain their own marketing and branding needs at this time, these social media companies have created an environment where the work of professional journalists is threatened by the prevalence of fake news, leaving readers unsure of what is the truth and what is not.

Mr. Reilly said: "We have reached a very dangerous juncture and something needs to happen to address it.

"Only recently President Michael D. Higgins said that local journalism was at the very foundation of democracy in this country.

“It is sad to see that this foundation is now very much in jeopardy due to the growth of the digital world, which has not been for the better in many cases.

"The government needs to take on these social media superpowers, tax them and give a slice of the money to the local media. Otherwise, we are going to lose a very important part of our culture and democracy."

Mr. Reilly was speaking at the Local Ireland Media Awards in Mullingar, at which he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to provincial journalism.