Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

The strength of regional media was underlined at a political meeting I attended last week. The politicians present lamented the fact that their regional counterparts had much more opportunity to engage their constituencies via the media. Rural TDs benefit from the fact that regional media, particularly radio, are far more powerful in their locality than the national press. For example, Highland Radio in Donegal has a better listenership than the likes of RTE and Today FM because its listeners tune in for programming that is relevant to them.

Unfortunately for Dublin’s politicians, they must get into the national press in order to get the same cutthrough. This however is a much more challenging task. While there are numerous local papers to serve the various communities across Dublin, the editorial quality varies. Publications like the Fingal Independent stand head and shoulder above some of their peers, but it does not have the same influence compared to regional publications.