Public Broadcaster responsibility

StewartGriffin

In the run up to the referendum to abolish the Seanad, did RTE air one documentary about what the Seanad and the job its Senators do?
Is that not the least we would expect from a public service broadcaster?

echo beach

Was there even a token attempt to inform voters about the Court of Appeal Referendum?
All I heard was the chairperson of the Referendum Commission on Morning Ireland. She was helpful but it isn't the best time to absorb detail when you are rushing out to work. It seems that if they couldn't get two people on opposing sides to 'debate' the issue by making personal attacks on each other then they felt there wouldn't be 'balance'.
Every household will now be taxed to provide this 'public service' and I would like to see some evidence of the service they provide to the public and I don't mean slick ads made with our money,

donegal__road

I based my vote on the new court of appeal, on what I learned from watching a debate on Vincent Browne over a week ago.

petronius

I agree the coverage to the Court of Appeal was pathetic -
I read up on it and voted based on that but it was hard to come to a decision since there was no debate pros and cons even what could be done instead of a new court of appeal..

RTE would have had problems with airing a documentary if it was seen to be partisan or making the seanad look favourable prior to an referendum
but maybe there should be a fly on the wall senators documentary
or dail deputy or committee members one to see if they work as hard as they claim
But i think the media was tacitly in favour of abolition

Bob Z

StewartGriffin wrote: »

In the run up to the referendum to abolish the Seanad, did RTE air one documentary about what the Seanad and the job its Senators do?
Is that not the least we would expect from a public service broadcaster?

a documentary about the seanad would have been seen as biased unless it a like a publice service broadcast on the pros and cons of the seanad and even that might have been accused by one side or the other(or both) of bias

petronius

I agree it was hard to get a debate on the merits of the appeal court referendum since there was no big no-campaign and the remit (which i believe is correct) to have balanced debates and contributions on the media in the run up to a referendum meant rather than having one the media avoided it.
I can't think of anyone who campaigned against it!
And the only argument i felt put forward seemed to be from people who are just proposed that we could achieve the same result with having a better more efficient court system as is.
the only reason i think there was no votes on this was that it wasnt covered i the media, and people like to know what they ar voting on