Following a successful pilot last year, the second round of the Scheme will provide funding for 80 long-form projects covering news items which are under-reported or are at risk of being under-reported in the Irish media. Approximately €2.7 million will go to the commercial radio sector, with the remaining €1.7 million going to print and online publications.

Rónán Ó Domhnaill, Coimisiún na Meán Media development commissioner said: “On behalf of Coimisiún na Meán, I’d like to offer my congratulations to the successful applicants in this round of the News Reporting Scheme.

“The goal of this Scheme, along with our other Journalism Schemes, is to offer funding and support, on a platform-neutral basis, to independent, skilled and trusted journalism and to support the investigation and coverage of news and current affairs stories which may not otherwise be covered. I look forward to seeing the successful projects come to fruition over the coming months, including the 12 Irish-language or bilingual projects that have received almost €900,000 in funding.

“I would also like to thank minister Patrick O’Donovan for his continued support of our Journalism Schemes including the allocation of funding for the News Reporting Scheme, and for specific ringfenced funding under the Scheme which has been awarded to the commercial radio sector, a valued source of trustworthy news, which provides a vital service to communities around the country.”

The successful projects include:

• A six-part multimedia series for a national newspaper investigating the role of migrant workers in Irish agriculture 
• A year-long investigation by a regional newspaper into the plight of unpaid carers in County Meath
• The Infinite Scroll – an investigative documentary series for a group of radio stations to examine social media addiction in Ireland
• Left Behind – an investigation by a group of regional newspapers into loneliness and social isolation in rural communities.
• In the Loop – a weekly children’s news show by a regional radio station to help 8-14-year-olds understand the world around them and counter the mis- and dis-information they encounter
• Two separate projects from different newspaper titles to examine the status and threat to survival, respectively, of small Gaeltacht areas in Claregalway and in County Mayo
• Guthanna na Cathrach – a weekly radio series as Gaeilge, focusing on news issues in Dublin
• A 12-month series examining stories impacting Gaeltacht areas for an online outlet
• A dedicated border communities reporting project for a group of regional newspapers which have newspapers on both sides of the border

In addition to this round of the News Reporting Scheme, round 3 of the Local Democracy Reporting and Courts Reporting Schemes is expected to open later this year, which will support high-quality journalism and journalist roles, covering local democracy fora and local courts.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan said: “I warmly welcome the announcement by Coimisiún na Meán of the results of round 2 of the News Reporting Scheme. This funding will support the continued provision of trustworthy, objective and accessible public service news content for our citizens in both Irish and English. I would like to congratulate the successful applicants and to thank Coimisiún na Meán for their work in developing and administering this scheme which supports a vibrant, diverse and sustainable media sector in Ireland”.