Meet the Media: Juno McEnroe, Political reporter, Irish Examiner
The Irish Examiner’s political reporter Juno McEnroe tells eolas about his journey from ‘dressing gown’ journalism, to Afghanistan and then to Leinster House.
What education and career path led to your current position in the Irish Examiner?
In a strange way, I became involved in journalism almost by accident. Having done English and Italian in UCD, I found myself working in the IFSC during the initial boom times in 2000. It was suggested that I apply for the editorship of UCD’s bi-weekly, the University Observer newspaper, and I became a co-editor there. There were long hours, sleeping on student room floors in between copy deadlines and the pay was miserable. But I was fascinated by the work and became hungry for more.
This led to me entering DCU’s masters in journalism in 2001. During that year, I worked part-time in INN. My masters’ placement was with Ireland on Sunday (now the Irish Mail on Sunday) where I got stuck into investigative stories and worked under some fine reporters.
In the following year, I freelanced as well as continuing my work with INN. I initially called it ‘dressing gown’ journalism, as I often worked at home and indeed, did find myself filing stories still in such attire. This also involved building up enormous phone bills for calls to Iraq relating to stories during the first Gulf War, from my front room.
But the experience thought me a lot. Self-imposed discipline, persistence and an ability to focus on investigations that I preferred essentially meant I was my own boss.
I worked with the Sunday Times part-time for a few years. In early 2004 I took up work full-time with the Irish Examiner in its Dublin offices, as a general reporter.
During the period with the paper, I have had the opportunity to travel and write from Uganda, the Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Gaza and Israel, Afghanistan, Haiti and most recently Iraq and Jordan. Many of these projects related to conflict and human rights abuses.
In your opinion, what are the three biggest challenges facing the Government over the next 12 months?
The next budget in December will bring even more challenges for the Government than the last. It spared cuts to social welfare and income tax hikes in the last one, but even more funds need to be saved this time around. A lot of the ‘low hanging fruit’, as many a politician has said, is gone.
A planned return to the markets at the end of next year will also determine if the State can uncouple itself for funding from the troika. It’s a crucial moment and all our bets will be hanging on whether we can borrow at low rates through bond sales.
A lesser but equally important challenge will be the children’s referendum this autumn. While many groups would agree that children’s rights are a priority, these types of votes always bring out the most emotionally charged arguments and could leave the Government facing a few awkward questions.
What will evolve and what will stay constant in print journalism in the future?
Print journalism faces a difficult but not impossible future. Many mediums have seen off challenges, including radio. But adapting will be the key to survival. Online media is progressing very fast, with the likes of thejournal.ie, RTÉ’s own online news and a host of other sites. However, many independent news websites have still to make money. It’s this last point which, in my opinion, is holding back newspaper editors from investing in serious online facilities that compliment newspapers.
Newspapers (and crucially their editors) will and should train up journalists to firstly be able to use online media tools, including video, audio and even blogs. These are the simple elements. But it is a catch 22 situation. Editors are unlikely to invest until advertisers come on board online, but advertisers are unlikely to put up the money when online editions are amateur.
As discussed at a recent conference on the future of journalism, the future of media, at least print, is the ‘trust factor’. People, here and abroad, will pay for quality. This is evident from recent figures for the New York Times, which showed its readership nearly doubled to 1.5 million when online paying users were included, since a recent pay wall was installed for online editions.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
Well, I hope there’s still a lot more to come, but media always throws up surprises. Working across and with several different news desks and editors has taught me a lot. But niche journalism is certainly an advantage in this day and age of ‘demand’ news.
My experiences covering stories abroad have been challenging but successful. This includes crossing into Gaza, the war-torn enclave surrounded by Israel, and meeting Hamas members, and writing about UN efforts to reduce fundamentalism among children there. My trip to Afghanistan also involved exposing the shameful imprisonment of women for such actions as introducing a couple to each other. Last year, I also investigated the de-mining of northern Iraq with Irish funds.
My recent work as a member of the political staff in Leinster House has also brought me much enjoyment. There’s never a quiet day. Really. But, despite all the public cynicism about politics, decisions made or challenged there affect everyday lives, from people’s health, to their sex lives to the amount of money in their pockets.
Both of these areas, foreign and political journalism, have also given me opportunities to report on radio, appear on TV debate shows and even file radio stories from abroad.
How do you spend your spare time?
The little free time that I do have is usually spent exercising, being creative in the kitchen and with music as well as reading. I also enjoy travel, especially adventurous trips.
