Sammi Bourke, Head of Operations with the Irish Farmers Journal, elected new Chair of NewsBrands Ireland

6 September 2024. The members of NewsBrands Ireland, the representative body for Ireland’s national news publishers, have elected Sammi Bourke as their new Chair. She will replace Business Post COO Colm O’ Reilly.

Sammi Bourke has over twenty years’ experience in media and news publishing. A native of Australia, Sammi worked at a senior level with News Corp Australia prior to moving to Ireland. Her roles with News Corp Australia included Sales Management roles for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, Advertising Director and then Publisher for commuter title mX, and General Manager, Sales in Queensland. Her current position is Head of Operations for The Agricultural Trust which publishes the Irish Farmers Journal, The Irish Field, Irish Country Magazine, and The Irish Garden.

Irish Times Group Managing Director Deirdre Veldon has been elected Vice Chair of NewsBrands Ireland. Deirdre replaces Richard Bogie, MD of News Ireland.

NewsBrands Ireland represents Ireland’s leading multi-platform news publishers. The organisation’s remit is to promote the fundamental role of a free press and the contribution made by its members’ trusted journalism to democracy; to work towards a fair and balanced legislative framework that supports public service journalism and sustainable business models for the news publishing industry and to underline the value of news publishers’ audiences to advertisers.

A key challenge for news publishers is the lack of effective legislation to support them in seeking fair payment from search and social media platforms for use of their content. News publishers invest millions in generating properly sourced and fact-checked news content that is being used by platforms to engage users and, in turn, capturing valuable data for online advertising and by AI systems to train large language models.  NewsBrands is committed to furthering legislation that provides for the necessary data-sharing obligations for the assessment of the value of publisher content to platforms and for binding arbitration, as exists in other markets.

Speaking about her new role, Ms. Bourke said: “I am excited to take on this role at such a critical time for the news publishing industry. Securing a sustainable future for quality journalism is crucial through these times of rapid change. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow publishers on key issues for our industry, defending the freedom of the press, knowledge sharing, facilitating dialogue and ensuring that our collective voice remains strong and consistent.”

Welcoming Ms Bourke’s appointment as Chair, NewsBrands Ireland CEO, Ann Marie Lenihan, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Sammi Bourke as our new Chair and we look forward to working with her as we adapt to the seismic changes to the media environment. As a member organisation, we have successfully lobbied for improvements for the industry in recent years including the elimination of VAT on print and digital newspapers, the advancement of defamation law reform, the introduction of a Minister with responsibility for all media, and the recognition of the need for support for all providers of public service journalism.”

“On behalf of myself and the Management Committee, I would like to thank our outgoing Chair Colm O’ Reilly for his commitment and contribution to NewsBrands Ireland. As Chair, he brought considerable expertise in shaping the collective strategy for the organisation.  We look forward to continuing to work with Colm as a member of our Management Committee.”