How to Fix RTE?

Laois_Man

So Independent.ie are breaking a story tonight about an internal RTE employee who has written a 4,000 word statement to 11 members of the Oireachtas and included documents purporting to be internal RTE documents detailing how RTE intentionally gave bias coverage in favour of Michael D Higgins in the 2011 Presidential Election campaign.

Not a peep on the RTE website so far - not even to discredit the claims - Yet.

Whether they succeed in discrediting him/her or not, these types of claims are not new following other complains such as those on the lead-up to the abortion referendum and not limited to the realm of politics. Everything from the coverage of the visit of Pope Francis to the choosing of Ireland's Eurovision entry, to the weekly miserly slot on The Late Late Show, to the way issues are consistently handled by the host of Liveline are just some of the examples that suggest an agenda.

Has your trust in RTE's impartiality been eroded in recent years (if it ever existed in the first place) and if so, what can be done to clean up this organization?

Liamario

The only way to fix RTE is to get rid of it. If they insist on keeping the fee, it should be used as a fund for those who wish to make Irish programming and put on a channel totally free of advertisement.

Irish Kings

Close it down, sack everyone ever associated with it, and open an unbiased public media service, that just reports all the facts without opinion (not just selective facts and slanted opinions) and let people make up their own minds, instead of telling people what they are allowed to think.

beertons

Just turn off it's power so it can't broadcast.

Samsgirl

Make it a subscription service only.

Laois_Man

Liamario wrote: »

The only way to fix RTE is to get rid of it. If they insist on keeping the fee, it should be used as a fund for those who wish to make Irish programming and put on a channel totally free of advertisement.

Is that realistic?
Even if every single occupied dwelling in Ireland had a TV and paid a TV license, the total income amounts to well below 300 Million Euro

Good luck trying to fund a national broadcaster for a year on that budget (whether it's RTE or something else). Even if you did, the problem with policing, enforcing and demonstrating impartiality remains the same.

Irish Kings

Laois_Man wrote: »

Is that realistic?

About as realistic as thinking anything about RTE will be fixed.

vicwatson

Stop paying those “top 10” exhorbitant amounts of our cash for starters. Rte think they are the national broadcaster of america ffs

Liamario

Laois_Man wrote: »

Is that realistic?
Even if every single occupied dwelling in Ireland had a TV and paid a TV license, the total income amounts to well below 300 Million Euro

Good luck trying to fund a national broadcaster for a year on that budget (whether it's RTE or something else). Even if you did, the problem with policing, enforcing and demonstrating impartiality remains the same.

I’m all aboard the shut this **** down train. I’m just trying to be diplomatic

lawred2

Reduce it to RTE one radio and tv. Restrict it from engaging in programming that has any sort of commercial basis.

It should not be competing with commerical operators. Should be a proper public service channel.

Silentcorner

Move it out of D4 into one of the regional cities. D4 is one of the most insular parts of Ireland.

valoren

Feic News.

bodice ripper

Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Bob24

Irish Kings wrote: »

an unbiased public media service, that just reports all the facts without opinion (not just selective facts and slanted opinions) and let people make up their own minds

Agree RTÉ is not doing its job and extremely one sided, but I think you are looking for something which doesn’t exist.

No media is unbiased and IMO any media claiming they are unbiased because they only report the facts is not to be trusted. Simply because there are a lot of factual things to talk about in the world meaning that a media can only present a small selection of them, and there is necessarily a bias in the way that selection is made.

I would rather watch/read content from journalists who are upfront about their personal opinions - regardless of me agreeing with them or not - rather than from journalists who are claiming to be unbiased. So to me a good public broadcasters should give balanced airtime to the various opionions which exist in the country and maintain ideological variety in its editorial team, rather than being (falsely) unbiased because fact-based. And yeah sadly RTÉ is clearly not doing that and I have no hope of it happening anytime soon. So while my preferred option would be to have a national broadcaster which is playing the role I described, if it’s not happening I would lean towards getting rid of it altogether.

uck51js9zml2yt

bodice ripper wrote: »

Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

We'll ask Donald when he's over if he or him friend Kim can help.

Jimmy.

Stop putting Miriam on the RTÉ guide every week anyway.

Cookie_Monster

Fire, lots and lots of fire

10000maniacs

Get rid of the liberal left commentators some of whom are on 0.5 million plus p/a (shameful) and replace them with more balanced commentators. Start representing the people for a change. Applies to the news as well. RTE should not be allowed to have an agenda or political slant.
Privatize the orchestras.
Whatever happens don't increase the license fee.

CFlat

Maybe you haven't got it tuned in properly?

gandalf

How to fix RTE? Mass P45's and shut them down!

Pretzill

A small proportion of the licence fee goes towards funding independent productions many of which are broadcast on rte. More funding should be set aside for Indies with no affiliation to rte.

Our national broadcaster needs to start behaving like a private entity and not a-job-for-life public one. They need some good homegrown drama (cull fair city) and talent and stop relying on current affairs (one sided and increasingly propaganda led)

howdoyouknow

Blast it with piss or burn it with fire. Nothing else can or will work. Just be sure not to blast it with piss then burn it with fire because it will be hard to get it to light when it's doused in piss. Also if it does catch fire after being doused in piss the heat generated by the fire will create a steaming piss scented smoke which couldn't possibly help anything

KungPao

I think a modest and fair salary increase for the big names should help. I, and I’m sure I’m not alone here, would happily pay more for the TV licence to ‘fix RTE’.

end of the road

10000maniacs wrote: »

Get rid of the liberal left commentators some of whom are on 0.5 million plus p/a (shameful) and replace them with more balanced commentators. Start representing the people for a change. Applies to the news as well. RTE should not be allowed to have an agenda or political slant.

get rid of the people you don't agree with, essentially? no media is ever going to be truely balanced, it's not realistic.
the criticism of partiality aimed at rte is the same thing as the bbc, the right think it's far left and the left think it's far right. those on the opposing side of an argument think it's unbalanced against them.

10000maniacs wrote: »

Privatize the orchestras.

i presume the point of that would be to stop it from being publically funded? that's unlikely to happen.

hatrickpatrick

vicwatson wrote: »

Stop paying those “top 10” exhorbitant amounts of our cash for starters. Rte think they are the national broadcaster of america ffs

They get four time the pay, times the pay, of the United States President.
Times the pay!
This woman here - times the pay!
Who is a minister. Times the pay!
And anything she does - times the pay!
Who is elected - times the pay!
Well she'll be removed from office. Times the pay!
You've lived your high life. You have had your day, Pat!

'Kay. Thank you very much - you're RTE.
'Kay. Thank you very much - not ABC...
'Kay. Thank you very much - you're RTE.
'Kay. Thank you very much - not ABC...

quintana76

The blatant bias of it's news output needs to be addressed. It takes it's lead from the BBC and throws in a south county Dublin sanctimonious spin.
If kept it should be removed to Athlone. See how Miriam likes being in the Midlands. Marian might finally retire before the fags get her. Joe wouldn't be able too get home to Clonarf by 15:30 every day.
Mass retirements would ensue.
As for the salaries. It was worked out that if Tubs had worked for the BBC and was paid proportionally he would be on 13 million. Get rid of the self-employed scam for a start as the BBC were forced to do. But when you have a uniform, complicit media as in Ireland the issue will not be highlighted.
Slash those salaries.
RTE should be rebuilt from the bottom up. It is a scam on the Irish people to the benefit of an interconnected, priveleged few.

DavidLyons_

Cap the salaries of its “stars” at €150k tops. If they don’t like it, they can take their “talent” elsewhere.

One tv channel showing news and homegrown current affairs shows and documentaries. One radio station for news and another for music covering all genres.

Either that or make it a subscription service. They’d soon realise how in-demand their service is.

Paying obscene amounts to people like Tubridy, Finnucane, Duffy, O’Callaghan etc. is a joke. And as for talentless assh*les like Nicky Byrne....

It’s a scandal that such a poor service is being funded by the taxpayer under threat of jail should you not pay up to keep wretches like “man of de people “ Duffy in the lifestyle to which he is accustomed.

OneEightSeven

end of the road wrote: »

get rid of the people you don't agree with, essentially? no media is ever going to be truely balanced, it's not realistic.
the criticism of partiality aimed at rte is the same thing as the bbc, the right think it's far left and the left think it's far right. those on the opposing side of an argument think it's unbalanced against them.

Funding for most media outlets are voluntary. RTE and BBC are involuntary, this is why state broadcasters should be impartial. I've also yet to hear of anyone describe RTE and BBC as far-left, unless the real motive of TV licenses is to redistribute the wealth to people like Gary Lineker and Chris Evans, in which case they have it arse backwards because they're both loaded.

kneemos

Anyone who watches RTE for news coverage wants their head massaging,not because it's biased,but because they do such a piss poor job of relaying events.
They're a headline service at best.

As for bias,unless they make the 6.01 five hours long and cover every angle they'll be accused of that.

Corb_lund

Move their offices to Tyrellstown. I'm sure they'll love the increase in diversity they keep preaching

quintana76

OneEightSeven wrote: »

Funding for most media outlets are voluntary. RTE and BBC are involuntary, this is why state broadcasters should be impartial. I've also yet to hear of anyone describe RTE and BBC as far-left, unless the real motive of TV licenses is to redistribute the wealth to people like Gary Lineker andChris Evans, in which case they have it arse backwards because they're both loaded.

They find it very useful to virtue signal the liberal agenda as a way of disguising their blatant greed and privelege. Example: they are very pro-refugee. How many have been settled in south county Dublin. Close to zero I would say.
It is a very useful tool for elites to maintain their privelege whilst sounding caring at the same time. It distracts from the main issue which is the blatant rip-off of the public that RTE is.
If they cared as much as they pretend, surely there is plenty of room at Montrose for a halting site or refugee centre, or both.
Not a chance as it is not the point.