Kevin Rafter
Biographic Data
| ID | 3042966 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kevin Rafter |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kevin |
| FAMILY NAME | Rafter |
| SIGNATURE | RAFTER K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Dublin City University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9914-5223 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 39 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
John Bruton: An Appreciation
Whether it was powering down the corridors in Leinster House, or hastily arriving into a radio studio, the image of John Bruton that sticks in my mind is of a man on the move
I Cannot Give the Name of the Source to the Court’: The Imprisonment of an Irish Political Journalist
This article examines the case of the first Irish journalist to be imprisoned for refusing to reveal his sources. In his capacity as political correspondent with the Irish Press, Joseph Dennigan (1910–1950) was called as a witness in a case in December 1933 against a member of the ‘Blueshirts’, a quasi-fascist organisation. Dennigan declined to identify the official sources who he consulted in writing an article about the prohibition of the organ…
The media and politics
The media plays a central role in modern democracies and, in particular, the work of journalism can help democracy to thrive by providing information to the public that is objective, fair and impartial. Separately, successful political communication strategies assist politicians to win public support for their arguments, and ultimately assist in securing power where policies can be implemented. This chapter examines the relationship between the m…
Underrepresenting Reality? Media Coverage of Women in Politics and Sport
Objectives How do surges in female representation in public life affect media coverage? Can the media underrepresent the reality of women's progress? If so, is the source of underrepresentation the media itself or social elites that interact with the media? Methods Using automatic content analysis, we study two remarkable step changes in women's role in public life in Ireland: the 2016 elections and 2012 Olympics. Results The increase in female p…
Entrepreneurial Journalism
The proliferation of entrepreneurial journalism initiatives over the past decade has been inherently disruptive to the media industry.For organizations and their employees, the launch of new journalistic enterprises extends the already-significant encroachments onto jurisdictional turf in a digital environment.For individual journalists, the shift to an explicitly businessoriented mind set challenges deeply rooted notions about professional norms…
Entrepreneurial Journalism
Fianna Fáil and the professionalisation of political communication in Ireland
The Fianna Fáil general election campaign in 1977 is widely seen as a breakthrough in political communication and election campaigning in Ireland. This ‘modern’ and ‘professional’ campaign is considered a key contest between previous campaigns and those that followed. This article, however, challenges the view that the 1977 campaign marked a key moment in terms of campaign professionalisation. Rather the argument is that the seminal moment only o…
The Labour Party leadership election, 2014
This research report considers the contest for leader of the Irish Labour Party in 2014. The report discusses how the selection of leaders in Irish political parties has evolved in a manner similar to the experience internationally. The contest in 2014 is examined with specific attention given to the organisation of the election, the campaign and its outcome. The concluding section highlights a number of issues arising from this contest that have…
Commerce and the Church: The factors that shaped New Journalism in the Irish Independent
First published in January 1905, the Irish Independent is widely acknowledged as having been influenced by developments in journalism first associated, almost a decade earlier, with the Daily Mail in Britain. However, this article argues that while the Irish Independent adopted many elements of New Journalism its proprietor, William Martin Murphy was strategically selective in how elements were incorporated within his new venture. The success of …
Regulating the Airwaves: How Political Balance is Achieved in Practice in Election News Coverage
Discussion of balance in media coverage of politics is contentious, in part, because balance is notoriously difficult to define to the satisfaction of all those involved. Research in this area is generally focused on election news coverage to determine balance versus bias in visibility, favourability and success at securing attention for issues promoted. In this article, the analysis is directed at an earlier stage in the media coverage process. …
Holding to account: Some reflections on civil service reform
The following is an edited version of an address delivered at the conference ‘Held to Account: Responsibility and Accountability in the Public Service’, held on 7 November 2014 by the Institute of Public Administration, in conjunction with the Office of the Ombudsman
Explaining what happens when 'celebrity journalists' run for elected office
This article examines the concept of the 'political celebrity' through a consideration of career change from journalism to politics. The celebrity appeal of well-known journalists should make them ideal election candidates, particularly given the importance in contemporary politics of public profile and communication skills. While individuals with backgrounds in the media and journalism dominate the advisor ranks in politics, few decide to direct…
Understanding the influence of journalists and politicians on content: A cross-longitudinal analysis of Chilean political news coverage
By means of a cross-longitudinal quantitative content analysis of the Chilean national press, this article analyses the changes in reporting styles and the framing of politics in news coverage between 2006 and 2011, exploring whether the features of political reporting found in studies of Western countries are evident in the case of Chile. According to the data, while politicians trigger the majority of political news stories, political coverage …
Does commercial orientation matter for policy-game framing? A content analysis of television and radio news programmes on public and private stations
This article examines the relationship between different ownership types in broadcast news to determine the portrayal of election coverage as a strategic game against a focus on policy issues. Using a content analysis of six television and radio programmes during the 2011 Irish general election, we test hypotheses about differences in coverage provided by public service programming with equivalent private sector coverage. Our findings improve upo…
Voices in the crisis: The role of media elites in interpreting Ireland’s banking collapse
This article focuses on the experts chosen as sources in radio news coverage at the start of Ireland’s financial crisis in 2008. The study examines which source categories were afforded opportunities to discuss this major international news story at the start of the European financial crisis. Access to these news programmes allows guests to shape public discourse, while the range of voices influences the character of wider policy debate. We find …
The impact of the economic crisis on media framing: Evidence from three elections in Ireland
Media coverage of elections in Europe and North America has increasingly focused on the campaign as a game rather than a policy debate. This is often explained by the changes in media pressures. It may also reflect the narrowing of policy space between left and right and the comparative prosperity enjoyed in Europe and North America. But the relevance of policy varies. The global economic crisis might have led to an increased interest in policy a…
Evil Literature: Banning the News of the World in Ireland
Much of the focus on the closure of the News of the World in 2011 was in the context of the newspaper as a national publication in the UK. The News of the World, however, had a significant history in Ireland. This article focuses on one aspect of that history culminating in the banning of the newspaper in 1930 at a time when it was the best-selling title in the Irish market. The prohibition followed an almost two-decade campaign against ‘dirty’ p…
Commercialism and Election Framing: A Content Analysis of Twelve Newspapers in the 2011 Irish General Election
The framing of elections represents the most overt instance of the media’s power to influence politics. We content analyzed twelve newspapers’ coverage of the 2011 general election in Ireland. Ireland’s newspaper market has some special advantages for social scientists, as it allows us to separate the newspaper types/formats (tabloid vs. broadsheet) from their commercial basis (vulnerability or otherwise to short-term sales and profits). Therefor…
Very Shocking News”: Journalism and reporting on a politician's illness
How the media should deal with information about the health of public figures remains a contentious issue in many countries. Many news outlets subscribe to the view that private lives should remain private unless public trust is broken or when private actions conflict with public positions. Controversy emerges over the exposure of marital infidelities, but it is in the area of health that agreement is hardest to achieve on where the dividing line…
Redefining the Irish Presidency: The Politics of a ‘Non-political’ Office, 1973–1990
This article examines the presidencies of Erskine Childers, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh and Patrick Hillery during the period 1973–1990. Each of the presidential terms is examined in terms of the background of the incumbent, the circumstances of his nomination as president and his role in office. Commencing with the election of Erskine Childers, the role assumed a higher public profile, with national engagements and international travel, and this activit…
The President of Ireland: A Constitutional and Political Figurehead
Bombers and Mavericks: Magill magazine's coverage of Northern Ireland, 1977–1990
Magill magazine was an influential current affairs magazine which was first published in Dublin in October 1977. The magazine was owned by journalist Vincent Browne, who was also its first editor. Having worked in Belfast in the early 1970s Browne saw the conflict in Northern Ireland as one of the main concerns of the news agenda. This article examines Magill's coverage of Northern Ireland which was largely driven by an interest in exploring thin…
Hear no evil—see no evil: Political advertising in Ireland
This article examines the regulation of political advertising on television and radio in Ireland where a restrictive set of rules prevent political parties and lobby groups from using the broadcast medium to communicate directly with the public. The current regime does provide qualifying political parties with access to a system of broadcasts during election and referendum campaigns, a system that is not available to lobby groups and other repres…
Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002
(2003). Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002. Irish Political Studies: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 108-119
Making it up as they went along residential property tax and the process of policy change
This article provides an analysis of the residential property tax (RPT) over the life of the tax from 1983 to 1997. The manner in which the tax was conceived, introduced, altered and eventually abolished reveals a great deal about the motivations of Irish politicians and the process of policy change. The story of RPT illustrates that the main political parties have no ideological framework within which to consider the concept of tax reform. Moreo…
Commercialism and Election Framing: A Content Analysis of Twelve Newspapers in the 2011 Irish General Election
The framing of elections represents the most overt instance of the media’s power to influence politics. We content analyzed twelve newspapers’ coverage of the 2011 general election in Ireland. Ireland’s newspaper market has some special advantages for social scientists, as it allows us to separate the newspaper types/formats (tabloid vs. broadsheet) from their commercial basis (vulnerability or otherwise to short-term sales and profits). Therefor…
Voices in the crisis: The role of media elites in interpreting Ireland’s banking collapse
This article focuses on the experts chosen as sources in radio news coverage at the start of Ireland’s financial crisis in 2008. The study examines which source categories were afforded opportunities to discuss this major international news story at the start of the European financial crisis. Access to these news programmes allows guests to shape public discourse, while the range of voices influences the character of wider policy debate. We find …
The impact of the economic crisis on media framing: Evidence from three elections in Ireland
Media coverage of elections in Europe and North America has increasingly focused on the campaign as a game rather than a policy debate. This is often explained by the changes in media pressures. It may also reflect the narrowing of policy space between left and right and the comparative prosperity enjoyed in Europe and North America. But the relevance of policy varies. The global economic crisis might have led to an increased interest in policy a…
Understanding the influence of journalists and politicians on content: A cross-longitudinal analysis of Chilean political news coverage
By means of a cross-longitudinal quantitative content analysis of the Chilean national press, this article analyses the changes in reporting styles and the framing of politics in news coverage between 2006 and 2011, exploring whether the features of political reporting found in studies of Western countries are evident in the case of Chile. According to the data, while politicians trigger the majority of political news stories, political coverage …
Redefining the Irish Presidency: The Politics of a ‘Non-political’ Office, 1973–1990
This article examines the presidencies of Erskine Childers, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh and Patrick Hillery during the period 1973–1990. Each of the presidential terms is examined in terms of the background of the incumbent, the circumstances of his nomination as president and his role in office. Commencing with the election of Erskine Childers, the role assumed a higher public profile, with national engagements and international travel, and this activit…
Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002
(2003). Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002. Irish Political Studies: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 108-119
Underrepresenting Reality? Media Coverage of Women in Politics and Sport
Objectives How do surges in female representation in public life affect media coverage? Can the media underrepresent the reality of women's progress? If so, is the source of underrepresentation the media itself or social elites that interact with the media? Methods Using automatic content analysis, we study two remarkable step changes in women's role in public life in Ireland: the 2016 elections and 2012 Olympics. Results The increase in female p…
Evil Literature: Banning the News of the World in Ireland
Much of the focus on the closure of the News of the World in 2011 was in the context of the newspaper as a national publication in the UK. The News of the World, however, had a significant history in Ireland. This article focuses on one aspect of that history culminating in the banning of the newspaper in 1930 at a time when it was the best-selling title in the Irish market. The prohibition followed an almost two-decade campaign against ‘dirty’ p…
The President of Ireland: A Constitutional and Political Figurehead
Hear no evil—see no evil: Political advertising in Ireland
This article examines the regulation of political advertising on television and radio in Ireland where a restrictive set of rules prevent political parties and lobby groups from using the broadcast medium to communicate directly with the public. The current regime does provide qualifying political parties with access to a system of broadcasts during election and referendum campaigns, a system that is not available to lobby groups and other repres…
Fianna Fáil and the professionalisation of political communication in Ireland
The Fianna Fáil general election campaign in 1977 is widely seen as a breakthrough in political communication and election campaigning in Ireland. This ‘modern’ and ‘professional’ campaign is considered a key contest between previous campaigns and those that followed. This article, however, challenges the view that the 1977 campaign marked a key moment in terms of campaign professionalisation. Rather the argument is that the seminal moment only o…
Explaining what happens when 'celebrity journalists' run for elected office
This article examines the concept of the 'political celebrity' through a consideration of career change from journalism to politics. The celebrity appeal of well-known journalists should make them ideal election candidates, particularly given the importance in contemporary politics of public profile and communication skills. While individuals with backgrounds in the media and journalism dominate the advisor ranks in politics, few decide to direct…
Making it up as they went along residential property tax and the process of policy change
This article provides an analysis of the residential property tax (RPT) over the life of the tax from 1983 to 1997. The manner in which the tax was conceived, introduced, altered and eventually abolished reveals a great deal about the motivations of Irish politicians and the process of policy change. The story of RPT illustrates that the main political parties have no ideological framework within which to consider the concept of tax reform. Moreo…
Making it up as they went along residential property tax and the process of policy change
This article provides an analysis of the residential property tax (RPT) over the life of the tax from 1983 to 1997. The manner in which the tax was conceived, introduced, altered and eventually abolished reveals a great deal about the motivations of Irish politicians and the process of policy change. The story of RPT illustrates that the main political parties have no ideological framework within which to consider the concept of tax reform. Moreo…
Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002
(2003). Leadership changes in Fine Gael and the Labour party, 2002. Irish Political Studies: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 108-119
Bombers and Mavericks: Magill magazine's coverage of Northern Ireland, 1977–1990
Magill magazine was an influential current affairs magazine which was first published in Dublin in October 1977. The magazine was owned by journalist Vincent Browne, who was also its first editor. Having worked in Belfast in the early 1970s Browne saw the conflict in Northern Ireland as one of the main concerns of the news agenda. This article examines Magill's coverage of Northern Ireland which was largely driven by an interest in exploring thin…
Hear no evil—see no evil: Political advertising in Ireland
This article examines the regulation of political advertising on television and radio in Ireland where a restrictive set of rules prevent political parties and lobby groups from using the broadcast medium to communicate directly with the public. The current regime does provide qualifying political parties with access to a system of broadcasts during election and referendum campaigns, a system that is not available to lobby groups and other repres…
Commercialism and Election Framing: A Content Analysis of Twelve Newspapers in the 2011 Irish General Election
The framing of elections represents the most overt instance of the media’s power to influence politics. We content analyzed twelve newspapers’ coverage of the 2011 general election in Ireland. Ireland’s newspaper market has some special advantages for social scientists, as it allows us to separate the newspaper types/formats (tabloid vs. broadsheet) from their commercial basis (vulnerability or otherwise to short-term sales and profits). Therefor…
Very Shocking News”: Journalism and reporting on a politician's illness
How the media should deal with information about the health of public figures remains a contentious issue in many countries. Many news outlets subscribe to the view that private lives should remain private unless public trust is broken or when private actions conflict with public positions. Controversy emerges over the exposure of marital infidelities, but it is in the area of health that agreement is hardest to achieve on where the dividing line…
Redefining the Irish Presidency: The Politics of a ‘Non-political’ Office, 1973–1990
This article examines the presidencies of Erskine Childers, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh and Patrick Hillery during the period 1973–1990. Each of the presidential terms is examined in terms of the background of the incumbent, the circumstances of his nomination as president and his role in office. Commencing with the election of Erskine Childers, the role assumed a higher public profile, with national engagements and international travel, and this activit…
The President of Ireland: A Constitutional and Political Figurehead
Evil Literature: Banning the News of the World in Ireland
Much of the focus on the closure of the News of the World in 2011 was in the context of the newspaper as a national publication in the UK. The News of the World, however, had a significant history in Ireland. This article focuses on one aspect of that history culminating in the banning of the newspaper in 1930 at a time when it was the best-selling title in the Irish market. The prohibition followed an almost two-decade campaign against ‘dirty’ p…
Understanding the influence of journalists and politicians on content: A cross-longitudinal analysis of Chilean political news coverage
By means of a cross-longitudinal quantitative content analysis of the Chilean national press, this article analyses the changes in reporting styles and the framing of politics in news coverage between 2006 and 2011, exploring whether the features of political reporting found in studies of Western countries are evident in the case of Chile. According to the data, while politicians trigger the majority of political news stories, political coverage …
Does commercial orientation matter for policy-game framing? A content analysis of television and radio news programmes on public and private stations
This article examines the relationship between different ownership types in broadcast news to determine the portrayal of election coverage as a strategic game against a focus on policy issues. Using a content analysis of six television and radio programmes during the 2011 Irish general election, we test hypotheses about differences in coverage provided by public service programming with equivalent private sector coverage. Our findings improve upo…
Voices in the crisis: The role of media elites in interpreting Ireland’s banking collapse
This article focuses on the experts chosen as sources in radio news coverage at the start of Ireland’s financial crisis in 2008. The study examines which source categories were afforded opportunities to discuss this major international news story at the start of the European financial crisis. Access to these news programmes allows guests to shape public discourse, while the range of voices influences the character of wider policy debate. We find …
The impact of the economic crisis on media framing: Evidence from three elections in Ireland
Media coverage of elections in Europe and North America has increasingly focused on the campaign as a game rather than a policy debate. This is often explained by the changes in media pressures. It may also reflect the narrowing of policy space between left and right and the comparative prosperity enjoyed in Europe and North America. But the relevance of policy varies. The global economic crisis might have led to an increased interest in policy a…
Commerce and the Church: The factors that shaped New Journalism in the Irish Independent
First published in January 1905, the Irish Independent is widely acknowledged as having been influenced by developments in journalism first associated, almost a decade earlier, with the Daily Mail in Britain. However, this article argues that while the Irish Independent adopted many elements of New Journalism its proprietor, William Martin Murphy was strategically selective in how elements were incorporated within his new venture. The success of …
Regulating the Airwaves: How Political Balance is Achieved in Practice in Election News Coverage
Discussion of balance in media coverage of politics is contentious, in part, because balance is notoriously difficult to define to the satisfaction of all those involved. Research in this area is generally focused on election news coverage to determine balance versus bias in visibility, favourability and success at securing attention for issues promoted. In this article, the analysis is directed at an earlier stage in the media coverage process. …
Holding to account: Some reflections on civil service reform
The following is an edited version of an address delivered at the conference ‘Held to Account: Responsibility and Accountability in the Public Service’, held on 7 November 2014 by the Institute of Public Administration, in conjunction with the Office of the Ombudsman
Explaining what happens when 'celebrity journalists' run for elected office
This article examines the concept of the 'political celebrity' through a consideration of career change from journalism to politics. The celebrity appeal of well-known journalists should make them ideal election candidates, particularly given the importance in contemporary politics of public profile and communication skills. While individuals with backgrounds in the media and journalism dominate the advisor ranks in politics, few decide to direct…
The Labour Party leadership election, 2014
This research report considers the contest for leader of the Irish Labour Party in 2014. The report discusses how the selection of leaders in Irish political parties has evolved in a manner similar to the experience internationally. The contest in 2014 is examined with specific attention given to the organisation of the election, the campaign and its outcome. The concluding section highlights a number of issues arising from this contest that have…
Fianna Fáil and the professionalisation of political communication in Ireland
The Fianna Fáil general election campaign in 1977 is widely seen as a breakthrough in political communication and election campaigning in Ireland. This ‘modern’ and ‘professional’ campaign is considered a key contest between previous campaigns and those that followed. This article, however, challenges the view that the 1977 campaign marked a key moment in terms of campaign professionalisation. Rather the argument is that the seminal moment only o…
Entrepreneurial Journalism
The proliferation of entrepreneurial journalism initiatives over the past decade has been inherently disruptive to the media industry.For organizations and their employees, the launch of new journalistic enterprises extends the already-significant encroachments onto jurisdictional turf in a digital environment.For individual journalists, the shift to an explicitly businessoriented mind set challenges deeply rooted notions about professional norms…
Entrepreneurial Journalism
Underrepresenting Reality? Media Coverage of Women in Politics and Sport
Objectives How do surges in female representation in public life affect media coverage? Can the media underrepresent the reality of women's progress? If so, is the source of underrepresentation the media itself or social elites that interact with the media? Methods Using automatic content analysis, we study two remarkable step changes in women's role in public life in Ireland: the 2016 elections and 2012 Olympics. Results The increase in female p…
The media and politics
The media plays a central role in modern democracies and, in particular, the work of journalism can help democracy to thrive by providing information to the public that is objective, fair and impartial. Separately, successful political communication strategies assist politicians to win public support for their arguments, and ultimately assist in securing power where policies can be implemented. This chapter examines the relationship between the m…
John Bruton: An Appreciation
Whether it was powering down the corridors in Leinster House, or hastily arriving into a radio studio, the image of John Bruton that sticks in my mind is of a man on the move
I Cannot Give the Name of the Source to the Court’: The Imprisonment of an Irish Political Journalist
This article examines the case of the first Irish journalist to be imprisoned for refusing to reveal his sources. In his capacity as political correspondent with the Irish Press, Joseph Dennigan (1910–1950) was called as a witness in a case in December 1933 against a member of the ‘Blueshirts’, a quasi-fascist organisation. Dennigan declined to identify the official sources who he consulted in writing an article about the prohibition of the organ…
Political science (23 works) · Law (18 works) · Politics (17 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Law (11 works) · Media Studies and Communication (11 works) · Media studies (10 works) · Irish (8 works) · Irish and British Studies (8 works) · Political economy (8 works)