In May of last year, The Journal was forced to deny rumours of its impending dissolution with false and malicious stories circulating that the site was on the cusp of formally closing the shutters owing to financial stress.

Founded in 2010 and occupying the blurred line between clickbait and serious news content, the publication owned by the Fallon brothers (also proprietors of daft.ie and donedeal.ie) has, regardless, made itself a relevant feature in the news cycle.

The site has been rather boastful of its self appointed fact checking role even conducting joint investigators with spook-adjacent Institute of Strategic Dialogue into the pesky rise of the so called far-right in the country.

In March, The Journal’s much lauded fact checking system was disavowed by the  International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) which provides it with its accreditation for not meeting their operational standards. 

Previous to this, the paper was caught rapid altering their fact check to favour the Yes side during the abortion debate.

Despite it all, the outlet has enjoyed some beneficial partnerships with the world of tech, among them Google and Facebook helping presumably to tide over The Journal in an era of receding profit margins and a vexatious media market.

Last year however the publication received a hearty €350,000 in grant money paid directly by the European Parliament to various media and civil society groups. The largest recipient in grant money from the €505,000 fund, along with the Eurofederalist lobbyists the European Movement one imagines the cash injection could alter the site’s editorial line away from any trace of Euroscepticism.

Speaking on the receipt of the grant, Journal editor Sinéad O’Carroll spoke of the outlet’s relationship with the EU:

“This will be an impactful collaboration with our readers. Together, we will identify challenges facing our country, our democracy and our place in the EU and wider world. Our journalists will interrogate all aspects of those key issues, with their findings becoming central to the ongoing conversations with the audience.”

Since accepting the bursary, mention of the grant has appeared in various reports pertaining to EU matters, most recently in an article critical of Poland’s restrictive attitudes towards illegal migration. While making mention of the fact that the Journal has benefited from EU funding, the article is keen to emphasize the fact this contribution has not influenced their reporting. 

One may hope that is true.

There are worse outlets operational in the Irish media ecosystem at the present time. However bad The Journal is, they are not in the same league as those who fabricate quotes, ie. The Sunday World, or the content hucksters at Joe.ie following the exposure of the click farm scandal.

Since 2016 it has become rather self-evident as to the dysfunctional relationship between Irish journalism and Brussels. Our media is chockablock with pundits and reporters who make a comfortable living through a quiet reserve of EU grant money and various Eurofederalist think tanks strangling any hope of Eurosceptic discourse in the mainstream.

We here at The Burkean do not pity any financial choppy water The Journal finds itself in, but would like the outlet to at least step off its high horse sometimes.

Posted by Ciaran Brennan

9 Comments

  1. I’ll give the urinal fair dues for letting me post links to the Fatima Movement since nobody is on it but the comments are a source for daily bouts of depression or the polls.

    Reply

  2. Surely since this is a tax payer funded op now it should have more oversght from the BAI?

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  3. Effective rule of thumb — if it’s coming out of the mouth of a journalist, it’s a lie until definitively proven otherwise.

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  4. # Bought & paid for # The Journal

    Reply

  5. bells of shandon 25/10/2021 at 11:06 pm

    The Whorenal.ie ,the best news money can buy,

    Reply

    1. Their reporters & owners are bona fide, no matter how we’d disagree with some of their opinions but some of the comments from bots etc around controversies likeTatchell are an issue.

      Years ago a SF TD said the majority of journal comments were Anti Mass Immigration but then after his remarks these comments were usurped by pro-diversity comments.

      Reply

  6. Phenomenal Research.

    Well said MOFO’s 👏

    It’s wholly inappropriate for any vehicle of political influence to receive funding from “Fiscal Terrorists” / “Financial Terrorists” after the “Terrorism” .

    https://m.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/john-drennan/john-drennan-fiscal-terrorists-call-shots-in-appeasement-process-26722204.html

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/three-key-truths-about-the-bailout-which-we-are-only-learning-now-1.1629738

    This Sex Mutant dominated Propaganda Machine has received how much since Trichet’s Bomb Rackateering?

    #EUCorporateliability

    Reply

  7. The journals day is up 15/01/2022 at 12:21 am

    The churnal is a corrupted rag that gathers data and Gaslights they make money on government polls and suppress the news so comments can’t be made when firfing an agenda

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  8. Ivaus@thetricolour 28/02/2022 at 4:08 pm

    The Journaliers, a rag,not fit to wipe a baby’s ass with. Paid for serfs of their propaganda masters in govt.and Eu. They were exposed for their deceit by the global standard of FACT CHECKER. Exposed over the ABORTION issue.
    No credit due to any idiot that does not follow the OATH of a once honored profession, they are a disgrace to educated readers.
    Just another Clone Clown like the Irish Slimes,Indo-ctrin,and rte criminals that could never survive in the real world…UNemployable globalist garbage that only survive on handouts,parasites of a free press…it will all end one day FOOL

    Reply

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