From Boom to Bust: a Post-Celtic Tiger analysis of the Norms, Values and Roles of Irish Financial Journalists

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of Irish financial journalists’ views on the reporting of the Celtic Tiger economy and its collapse, addressing criticisms that the specialism failed in its role as watchdog over financial elites. It finds that financial journalism has been marked historically by tensions over proximity to sources, varied audiences for information and specific constraints on newsgathering. The paper argues that journalists were, to different degrees, depending on their audience, part of elite-elite communication networks, where the financial community was largely the source of, and audience for, business news. While the interviewed journalists stated they consciously tried to avoid being captured by their sources by adopting a critical tone and using a variety of sources, they also noted that, when the scale of the global financial crisis and Irish banking scandals emerged, reporting became more critical and sceptical, suggesting that this may become the dominant, post-boom mode of financial reporting.