does Fianna Fail run RTE?

flogen

ok, lets get the ball rolling with a discussion:
Sen. David Norris today criticised RTE for their timing of a documentary about Mary McAleese, and also for the airing of a show which heavily criticised Micheal Noonan, the then FG leader, just before the last general election.
IT was claimed by Norris that the media were running this country. IT was later suggested by Labour Senator Brendan Ryan that FF were in total control of RTE, and as such controlled its output.

Would you agree? do you feel that RTE has in the past manipulated stories (with timing and other devices) to inflict painful blows on politicians at crucial times? Do you feel that for all the mistakes FF have made, RTE seems to avoid criticising them, and in reality would sooner put down FG or Lab??

Flogen

mike65

he he! A hornets nest so soon!

The issue of political influence be it real or imagined is as old as RTE certainly RTE TV. Its worth noting much of the controversy stems from the fact the RTE is a semi-state body and directly answerable to a minister (or at least this used to be the case)

I think the national broadcaster has in the past been partial to various parties, many oldesters will recall the provo vs sticky debate from the 70s when it was felt by some in RTE (notably Eogan Harris) that news and current affiars had been infiltrated by republican sympathisers who gave a particular anti-Brit/pro IRA spin to events.

Back in the early 90s a minister did directly interfere
with the running of RTE to bolster Century FM (that minister being Ray Burke of the Tribunals!). So you could say FF have controlled the media. That said Labour under Dick Spring tried to have all proposed local radio stations be 50% owned by RTE i(n 1986) so that was attempted interference albeit of a very different sort.

Politcians whatever thier hue will always seek to get the "best" they can out of RTE such is its importance esp come election year. FF are proberly the worst by not the only ones at it.

Mike.

flogen

asaik it used to be the case that if the RTE board made a decision the minister deemed unsuitable, he would just sack them all and re-hire more people.
Now it has to be put to the Dail or the Cabinet... or something

I would say that each party in power does excert some pressure on RTE to give them a good rep., however I wonder if they tell them when to put what shows on.....(would be handy if your always out for your favorites )

Flogen

Paddy20

RTE as a National broadcaster is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. It has too pay attention to the government of the day and abide by afaik the offical secrets acts and 'D' notices.

It is also under enormous pressure from advertisers, especially large companies like Eircom . Unlike the BBC in the UK which can not accept advertising revenue and must survive on income from TV/Radio license revenue along with the odd hand out from government.

However, imho Fianna Fail do not actually run RTE.

P. :ninja:

star gazer

originally posted by paddy20
It is also under enormous pressure from advertisers, especially large companies like Eircom . Unlike the BBC in the UK which can not accept advertising revenue and must survive on income from TV/Radio license revenue along with the odd hand out from government.

and who is the single biggest advertiser... no points for guessing. I agree that rte is between a rock and a hard place and it must be very hard when your biggest advertiser and your lisense fee setter is also one of the main subjects of your news items. The truth seems to be a reluctance of rte to rock the boat too much and challenge ministers on their stance rigourously. Take a look at how bertie ahern is able to get away with saying very little substantial.
On the whole though i think rte is independent and does perform its function well even with all the pressure. Could do little better though.

loismustdie

isn't rte independent/

flogen

you could call RTE semi-state.

While they are generally independent, there is a board chosen by the government of the time to watch over RTE, and it is up to the government to decide how much the TV licence is, so they are still somewhat linked to the government.

Flogen

Cork

RTE is a bloated semi state with falling audiences.

The licence fee won't be collectable as media technologies converge.

The BBC has made great programmes (The Office, AB FAB etc) and sold them abroad.

With such a large Irish population abroad - RTE has failed.

I think RTE are to blame for its own inadequcys.

RTE Radio and TV was fine - when peopled lived in "2 Channel Land" and we had no commercial radio.

Pigman II

I don't think RTE is pro-Fianna Fail, merely pro-government - whomever that may be. It's basically a very expensive soap-box for Dail Eireann to reassure us that 'things have never been better'.

There news in particular has this illusion of 'going after' cronies and of making ministers come in to explain and be accountable for their actions but in truth it's all just an exercise in 'going thru the motions' to make us believe those at the top are still answerable to us at the bottom.

Heh!
Count your blessings with , bar the BBC, one of the best public service broadcasters in the world.
You could be stuck with this or this

Then in the late afternoon, the viewer flips on Channel 22 to find the camera panning a hall full of teenagers in dark suits or traditional Korean dresses. Iron-faced, they watch an awards ceremony. Half of them take home red banners extolling the leader-god Kim Jong Il. The rest win red accordions. And so begins another evening of entertainment from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea....
You don't have to speak Korean to come away a little spooked by the experience.
Day after day, North Korea's TV network devotes hours to Mr. Kim's tours of factories. A narrator with the voice of a castrato speaks in trilling, almost hysterical tones as Mr. Kim makes his rounds. The people he meets bow from the waist. Crowds make fist-clenching salutes and beat their chests, or they wave both hands in the air, jumping as if in ecstasy. Mr. Kim never seems to ask a question; rather, he lectures the experts. He snatches pointers to jab at maps or diagrams. Oddly, his voice is never audible — only the narrator's is.
There are moments of near hilarity, as when Mr. Kim tours a collective farm populated with ostriches. Ostriches in North Korea? And yet there they are. There is literary content static shots of the day's newspapers, page by page. And children's programming appears in the form of a cartoon in which a boy hero is captured by the Japanese, beaten severely and bound with a stick jammed in his mouth to prevent him from screaming for help.

So there you have it folks be thankfull.
As regards the topic,how often do you see a debate on prime time where the presenter says, the government have not made a representative available?
It happens a lot, so in that case you have Miriam o'Callaghan having no choice but to put the devils advocate position to the opposition representatives.
Thats actually quite a handy service for a sitting government:rolleyes:

Civilian_Target

Yeah, you only realise how good RTE is when you go away. Ever tried watching, say, Fox.

Even Sky for that matter, has ads with infuriating regularity.

As for RTEs political adgenda, yep, I'd agree, I think it's got a fairly Republican spin. But FF are by far the biggest party in the country, and FF+PD+SF make up a good 60% of the voting population, don't forget. And RTE knows where the handouts are coming from.

That said, RTE are still incredibly ineffient, there is no reason they shouldn't be able to do a lot more with their license fee. They're overstaffed, nepotism is rife, and they're an equipment black hole....

emertoff

I don't think RTE is in FF's pocket but I do think RTE has to bear a large degree of responsibility for the very poor standard of political journalism we have to put up with. We are 7 years into the current government and not once has there been any serious cross examination of Ahern, Harney et al in all this time. It's probably fair to say that FF are not interested in having such discussions but RTE could be a little more pro-active in this area. Say what you like about Blair but at least he has sat in the hotseat with the likes of Paxman, Dimbleby, and Jon Snow, and also appeared on live debates before hostile audiences. When did we last see that on RTE? They are happy to have Charlie Bird parked outside Dublin Castle telling us of 'sensational' developments when the Average Joe lost interest a long time ago particularly as Liam Lawlor is openly giving two fingers to the whole process. Tje last election campaign was such a washout it was a disgrace. FF HQ were practically dictating terms to RTE.