The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country.[2]
At the time of the Spanish Civil War, the Cork Examiner reportedly took a strongly pro-Franco tone in its coverage of the conflict.[6] As of the early to mid-20th century, the newspaper reportedly catered to a "socially-conservative reader base" and reflected a "conservative nationalist agenda".[7][8][9]
Renaming and ownership
Published as The Cork Examiner from 1841 until 1996, the newspaper was renamed The Examiner in 1996. Since 2000 it has been published as The Irish Examiner, to appeal to a wider national readership.[10]
As of 2004[update], its chief executive was Thomas J. Murphy, and its editor was Tim Vaughan.[13] Vaughan left the group in August 2016.[14]
The newspaper was based at Academy Street, Cork for over a century, before moving to new offices at Lapp's Quay, Cork in early November 2006, and subsequently to editorial offices at Blackpool, Cork, with a sales office in Oliver Plunkett Street.
Sale to The Irish Times
In February 2017, it was reported that Landmark Media Investments had appointed KPMG to advise on a range of options, including an Independent News and Media link with the Irish Examiner.[15]
In March 2017, it was reported that The Irish Times might bid for the Irish Examiner,[16] and by April 2017 both The Irish Times and INM had entered a sales process and signed non-disclosure agreements.[17]
In May 2017, it was reported that Sunrise Media and The Irish Times were exploring an acquisition, and a sale was agreed to The Irish Times in December 2017, pending regulatory approval.[18][19] The sale to The Irish Times was completed in July 2018.[20]
Average print circulation was approximately 57,000 copies per issue in 1990,[11] had risen to 62,000 by 1999,[11] had decreased to 50,000 by 2009,[23] and was approximately 28,000 by 2017.[24] Reflecting a changing trend in newspaper sales, the Examiner markets to advertisers on the basis of its print and online audience, stating in 2017 that "236,000 people read the Irish Examiner in print or online every day".[25]
^Fearghal McGarry (May 2002). "Irish Newspapers and the Spanish Civil War". Irish Historical Studies. 33 (129): 83. JSTOR30006956. After the war, Bishop Fogarty of Killaloe complained that only the Irish Independent and the Cork Examiner had given Franco "unflinching and unequivocal support"
^"'It's The Paper for you, boy'". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2021. As the Free State grew into a republic, the newspaper unapologetically and steadfastly reflected the mood and mores of its socially-conservative reader base
^Horgan, John (2001). Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922. Routledge. p. 44. ISBN9781134606160. The Cork Examiner['s ..] conservative management operated a type of self-censorship, under the censor's benign but distant supervision