New York-based Financial Times journalist Shaunagh Connaire joined Ryan Tubridy on the line on Wednesday to talk about her own background (she's from Longford) and the importance of journalism in this era of 'fake news'. Shaunagh pivoted (her word) from accountancy to journalism because she wanted to become an investigative journalist: 

"I really wanted to delve deep into stories that I cared about and where I would be able to see impact." 

Much stalking and coffee led to Shaunagh indeed becoming an investigative journalist, with Channel 4, the BBC and now the FT. As well as using Irish connections in the media space in London and New York, Shaunagh told Ryan that being from a place like Longford has its advantages in her line of work: 

"In some ways, you know, people look at Longford as being a bit of an underdog place and I'd absolutely use that. Yeah, great, I'm potentially from an underdog place in Ireland, but I'm really proud of that and they're the kind of stories I ended up doing, was representing the underdog and sticking it to the bully and sticking it to the people in power and that's what I love love doing in my investigative journalism." 

In 2014, Shaunagh made a programme about the Ebola epidemic, an outbreak that Ryan told her he felt like it was very much "over there". Shaunagh and her crew were the first filmmakers to go into the Ebola zone in Sierra Leone, a very dangerous place back then: 

"When we were over there, there was a seventy per cent chance of dying if you contracted Ebola. That's seven zero, you know? It was really, really dangerous. It's the most dangerous thing I've ever, ever done." 

Ryan asked Shaunagh what lessons she learned then that she's been able to apply to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. 

"Simple things, Ryan, like washing my hands furiously with hand sanitizer. We socially distanced over there, we never shook hands, we sometimes did an elbow touch to kind of greet people and they're all of the skills and the tools we're using now."  

The main difference, Shaunagh says, between Ebola in 2014 and the Coronavirus in 2020, is that masks weren't worn then as they're ineffective against Ebola. Shaunagh and her husband have been wearing masks at home in New York for months. Things have dramatically improved in New York, but the virus is on the rise in many southern and western states.  

One of the seemingly ridiculous conflict zones – especially in the US – is the politicization of masks: a lot of right-wing types appear to think that being seen wearing a mask displays weakness. It's another sign of the extreme polarisation of America. Shaunagh has just launched a new podcast, Media Tribe, which focuses on the journalists behind the stories because, as she sees it, journalism, proper, fact-based journalism is more important than ever: 

"I think our industry, Ryan, is in dire straits. You know, I think it's a time when it's extremely – it feels quite hostile to be a journalist. You know, these are really precarious times." 

Journalists being in danger or under threat used to be a thing that happened "over there", but it's recently become a thing that happens "over here" as well, at least where Shaunagh lives, as witnessed during the recent Black Lives matter protests: 

"The government thought it was ok to fire on protests and journalists specifically, with tear gas. That's not ok. When you see that happening in the western world, you know you have a problem. You know democracy is under fire when an administration and a government thinks it's ok to do that." 

You can hear the full conversation between Ryan and Shaunagh Connaire here. And you can listen to Shaunagh's podcast, Media Tribe, here, or wherever you get your podcasts.  

Niall Ó Sioradáin