A majority of Irish journalists (61.5%) identify themselves as "left-leaning" compared to 8.5% who identify as "right-leaning," according to a new study by the School of Communications at DCU.
The Irish Journalists at Work - Values, Roles and Influences report showed that overall the average position across all Irish journalists indicates "a clear left-of-centre position" which the report says has moved further left since a similar study in 2016.
Compared to the general population, the report suggests left-leaning views are "over-represented among journalists".
However, 71% of journalists surveyed said being a "detached observer" was very/extremely important to their work.
The report is based on data compiled from 364 national and local journalists working in print, digital and broadcast media and forms part of a wider international project established to assess the state of journalism across the world.
The survey also highlighted challenges faced by journalists with more than half of respondents reporting that they experienced demeaning or hateful speech directed towards them and 34% reported that they faced legal action arising from their work over the last five years.
Of those surveyed, 25% experienced surveillance over the last five years and 11% reported stalking.
The research showed "significant gender disparities among Irish journalists" concerning wages and management positions with only 25% of "top management" roles filled by women.
It showed that 56% of those working in the industry are men, while 44% are women.
Regarding wages, the study said 49% of women earn below the average wage compared to 33% of men.
The research showed that the sector "may be somewhat out of step with the public it serves" as it says ethnic minorities, alongside those with disabilities, are "underrepresented in the industry relative to the general population".
Authors of the report Professor Kevin Rafter and Dr Dawn Wheatley said the results in the report show many positives in terms of independence and safety, but said there are issues too.
"The gender pay gap remains a problem, especially at the higher levels. There are also concerns around the composition of the workforce, particularly the middle-class profile.
"Journalists' own experiences and values inevitably shape to some extent what they prioritise and how they cover certain topics, so it is very important that the sector does not reflect only the priorities and interests of a narrow group in the Irish population."
They also highlighted "structural constraints" such as media laws, commercial pressure and social media guidelines which they said can put pressure on journalists that "affect not only how they do their job, but how they feel about working as a journalist in Ireland".
