Participation and Media| Hybrid Media and Movements: The Irish Water Movement, Press Coverage, and Social Media

Authors

  • Henry Silke University of Limerick
  • Eugenia Siapera Dublin City University
  • Maria Rieder University of Limerick

Keywords:

social media, activism, Ireland, water, Facebook

Abstract

In 2010, as part of the Troika intervention into Ireland, the then government agreed to the imposition of domestic water charges and the creation of a centralized water company. The imposition of charges for domestic water, which was until then universally available, met spontaneous militant action, including mass protests and the blockading of districts to prevent meter installation. The campaigns were quickly dubbed “violent” and accused of being “infiltrated” by “dissidents” and other “sinister” elements, while minor acts of disobedience, such as pickets and sit-down protests, were recast as violent. In response, water activists used social media networks to disseminate opposition and as a critical media literacy tool. This article offers a comparative analysis of legacy print media and activist-driven social media coverage of a politically important court case involving water activists as an example of how the hybrid media system operates in a political conflict.

Author Biographies

Henry Silke, University of Limerick

Lecturer of Journalism

Eugenia Siapera, Dublin City University

Senior Lecturer

Maria Rieder, University of Limerick

Lecturer, Sociolinguistics 2018 

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Published

2020-06-06

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Special Sections

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