Researcher, Sofia Bernhardt, writes:

Across the sector, charities are actively working to make their voices heard in the political space. What we hear far less often is the other side of that relationship: how politicians themselves see the charity sector, and what actually makes them take notice. This is why this year's nfpPublic Ireland qualitative research turns to TDs and Senators, to better understand how Irish politicians view the charity sector and what makes them engage with it.

Politicians shape decisions that directly affect charities and the people they support, so understanding how they think is invaluable. Our work with politicians in the UK has shown that charities are eager for a range of insights from political research. They want a deep dive into which campaign tactics do and don’t work well with politicians, and whether their policy asks are landing clearly. Charities are also interested in finding out whether politicians actually know what they are currently working on, and what politicians think of them more broadly. That is why we are eager to carry out this research with Irish politicians and get their perspective on these topics, too.

This research builds on our work from last year with Irish journalists, exploring how charities can make their voices heard by another important audience. From a charity’s perspective, building a relationship with a politician might call for a similar, or a different, approach than with a journalist – and that is exactly what we want to explore.

What we learned from journalists

Last year, we spoke with nine journalists across Ireland’s print, broadcast and digital media to understand what makes them want to cover a charity’s story. The findings gave the charities we work with an in-depth picture of how to engage journalists and get their stories published. We shared the key findings and full report earlier this year, but one point is worth returning to as we turn our attention to politicians: the media environment has changed in recent years, and that shapes what journalists now need from charities. Three themes came through especially clearly.

The first was pressure. Every journalist described the same issue: higher output, smaller teams, and more desk-bound days than they would like. As one editor put it, output is higher and they are expected to do more with less time. That has a direct effect on charities: a press release with nobody available to speak that day or an embargo set only hours before a press conference is far more likely to be missed, because by the time a late event comes around the story has often gone stale.

The second was radio (which many charities don't make the most of, even though it reaches a big audience). Radio content goes out across multiple stations throughout the day and reaches a huge audience, but it moves quickly: bulletins refresh constantly, with one journalist describing how the same statistic would be framed one way at six am, from a fresh angle by eight, and differently again by ten. Timing matters, too. Events held in the morning catch the most bulletins, while anything after two o’clock starts to lose them. For a small investment, radio offers some of the best reach, but only if charities engage with its quick turnaround and its need for fresh audio.

The third, and perhaps most important, was that journalists want stories, not numbers. Every reporter described a shift towards digital and visual storytelling – video, photos, graphics and podcasts – and that now extends even to radio, since so much of that content ends up online, too. What audiences respond to is not statistics, but what those statistics mean for people. The practical message for charities is to treat multimedia as standard rather than an afterthought: photographs with every release and raw video or audio where possible, which journalists often find more useful than an edited film because it lets them keep their own editorial tone.

You can read our previous blog here, and the full report from last year’s research here.

What comes next

These findings are specific to journalists, but some of what sits behind them may not be. That is exactly why we want to carry out this research: to explore the same topics we did with journalists and find out what a good relationship between charities and politicians looks like, and what TDs and Senators want from charities.

Just as last year’s interviews uncovered what journalists really think, this year’s research aims to build the same depth of understanding of TDs and Senators. Ultimately, it is about giving the charities we work with a clear, evidence-based picture of how to engage politicians more effectively.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about our upcoming qualitative research with Irish politicians, get in touch with Sofia at sofia.bernhardt@nfpresearch.com.