RTE Cutbacks The Plan

Boggles

Anyway, It's sad to see the end of Aertel.

We had some good times.

odyssey06

Boggles wrote: »

I couldn't give a flying fúck if they burn it down.
I'm asking you why you think it should be closed down?
Figures are good, revenue is good, it's making a slight loss, but that could be easily turned around.

If it's so easily turned around why hasn't it been turned around already by the highly paid and trained media professionals in RTE?
It's been losing money for years.

It doesn't meet RTE's public service remit. It is losing money so doesn't serve a commercial purpose.
Shut it down.

KildareP

Boggles wrote: »

It makes more from commercial revenue then subsidy AFAIK.

It caters for a certain demographic and has a weekly listenership of around 880k on par with Todayfm.

I haven't listened to 2fm in 20 years, but what exactly irks you that it needs to be nuked?

For 2018:
€5.2m of its €12.3m operating cost is met through commercial revenue.
€6.7m was funded by the license fee.
It posted a €300k operating loss (which ultimately ends up being met from the license fee).

https://www.rte.ie/annualreport/pdfs/RTE_annual_report_2018.pdf - Page 109

It has never been self-sufficient for the last decade, and has been primarily funded from the license fee for the last several years.

It offers nothing that you can say isn't provided for elsewhere by the regionals (Spin 1038, Spin SouthWest, iRadio, Beat) - it has some of the shortest news bulletins on the air and a large majority of its off-peak schedule is automated.

They held off releasing their most recent JNLR results for the last year at all citing schedule changes mean they're not relevant - doesn't inspire much confidence that they were in any way promising!

whisky_galore

Boggles wrote: »

Anyway, It's sad to see the end of Aertel.

We had some good times.

Cue flashback montage.

odyssey06

FrancieBrady wrote: »

What is PBH on about here...did he get the heave?
https://twitter.com/boucherhayes/status/1192358380796596224

I remember one time I had to have similar rule about checking RTE news as they were leaking the beans about possible redundancies in my employer...

JP Liz V1

Ray D'Arsehole is awful should not be on the telly or radio

The salaries for all should be cut by 50%

Boggles

odyssey06 wrote: »

If it's so easily turned around why hasn't it been turned around already by the highly paid and trained media professionals in RTE?

I have no idea, like I said the figures are good.

880k listen to it so it does fulfill something for the public.

Cost and value for me are 2 separate things.

Who knows maybe it is up next for the chop.

odyssey06

Boggles wrote: »

Anyway, It's sad to see the end of Aertel.
We had some good times.:(

Checking the latest scores in the football on a Saturday afternoon in a pre-internet era

osarusan

Deleted User wrote: »

Ryan Tubridy – €495,000
Ray D'Arcy – €450,000
Joe Duffy – €389,988
Sean O’Rourke – €308,964
Marian Finucane – €300,617
Miriam O'Callaghan – €299,000
Claire Byrne – €216,000
Brian Dobson – €198,146
George Hamilton – €186,195
Mary Wilson – €185,679

These are the top 10 earners in RTE

I'd be happy to see a salary cap of say €100,000, and let anybody who wants to leave do so.


I'd guess 95% would remain on reduced terms because nobody else would offer them more than that.


If RTE said to Ray Darcy tomorrow that he can take or leave €100,000 a year, what other options does he actually have? Ireland is a small media pool and I doubt there is any interest in him from other countries.

Brock Turnpike

FrancieBrady wrote: »

What is PBH on about here...did he get the heave?

https://twitter.com/boucherhayes/status/1192358380796596224

Probably couldn't sleep

Boggles

odyssey06 wrote: »

Checking the latest scores in the football on a Saturday afternoon in a pre-internet era

It was actually faster than the internet for the first few years.

odyssey06

Boggles wrote: »

I have no idea, like I said the figures are good.
880k listen to it so it does fulfill something for the public.
Cost and value for me are 2 separate things.
Who knows maybe it is up next for the chop.

I think the point is the 2Fm have many similar offerings in the commercial space that those 880,000 can switch to.
Spending 6-7 million of the licence fee as a subsidy on something like that does not make sense to me.
If it was breaking even, there might be a case for it.

I will miss RTE Gold, but I understand why it is being cut if it's making a loss.

ToBeFrank123

Deleted User wrote: »

We regularly comment on the Liveline thread the choice of ads they play during the ad break, and half the time its for RTE services or for the TV license itself - and so bringing in little or no ad revenue.

If they are making similarly bad choices of ad breaks on 2FM, then it's not fulfilling its commercial remit either.

Something similar happened on RTE TV during the rugby world cup final. The first two ads on one of the breaks was related to RTE content.

They are using prime time slots to advertise their own content.

Brock Turnpike

Ryan Tubridy – €495,000
Ray D'Arcy – €450,000
Joe Duffy – €389,988
Sean O’Rourke – €308,964
Marian Finucane – €300,617
Miriam O'Callaghan – €299,000
Claire Byrne – €216,000
Brian Dobson – €198,146
George Hamilton – €186,195
Mary Wilson – €185,679

It really is impossible to justify the salaries these people are getting.

Getting rid of Duffy and D'Arcy alone would save several jobs of ordinary workers.

Boggles

odyssey06 wrote: »

I think the point is the 2Fm have many similar offerings in the commercial space that those 880,000 can switch to.
Spending 6-7 million of the licence fee as a subsidy on something like that does not make sense to me.
If it was breaking even, there might be a case for it.

I completely understand what you are saying.

But those 880k might not want it closed down and would never engage with other shows on RTE that is turning a profit.

I know the demographic is younger but there would still be a whole heap of people that use that station that pay the fee in good faith. Why should they suffer?

If the station wasn't getting the figures I'd completely agree with you, but 880k is not to be sniffed at.

Balf

FrancieBrady wrote: »

What is PBH on about here...did he get the heave?

https://twitter.com/boucherhayes/status/1192358380796596224

No idea.

Don't check your sources, either.

Freddie_Turnill wrote: »

http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/apr/05/the-curious-case-of-pamela-izevbekhai/

"RTÉ broadcast an interview with a man claiming to be Dr Joseph Unokanjo in 2005 and again replayed it last week. This newspaper has established that the man purporting to be Dr Unokanjo reads verbatim from this fake document (pictured right) that Izevbekhai now admits is a forgery.

Philip Boucher-Hayes is the RTÉ broadcaster who conducted the radio interview. Boucher-Hayes has sworn an affidavit supporting Izevbekhai's claims for her legal case. He said through a spokeswoman last week: "In 2005, I rang international directory enquiries and got a number for the hospital in which Dr Unokanjo works.

I rang the hospital and was put through to the person whose interview was aired."

A phone number for Isioma hospital in Lagos was not available from international directory enquiries when contacted on several occasions this week. The address on the fake document gives a fake address and phone number for the hospital.
The hospital's actual address is 11 James Robertson Street, Surulere, Lagos.

In his sworn affidavit, Boucher Hayes said that when he telephoned Dr Unokanjo back some time later, Boucher Hayes he alleged to have been visited by a Nigerian army captain who threatened him for speaking publicly in support of Pamela Izevbekhai. Boucher Hayes was unavailable for comment."[/

It's one thing to be fooled, or more accurately in this case blinded, because of "advocacy (rather than investigative) journalism" but it's another case entirely to assert that you did things like "independently contacting" the hospital by "international telephone directories" when you currently cannot contact that hospital in Lagos by this means, as per above attempt by the "Sunday Tribune". His supposed method of contacting Isioma hospital in Lagos cannot be replicated.

Boucher Hayes interviewed a phony and claims to have been given a telephone number by international telephone directories which amazingly took him to the phone number of this phony doctor for his interview "verifying" Pamela Izevbekhai's story thus enabling him to disclaim responsibility for being thus fooled. How convenient.
So any check on the title/name & address attached to the telephone # (presuming he didn't ring a mobile)that he actually rang in Lagos to conduct the interview with the phony "doctor"; which can, I'm sure, be traced in the records; (which is obviously different and not the correct location as visited by the Garda officer) is neatly made into a nullity. How convenient.

Boucher Hayes goes on to assert that he had recontacted the "doctor" he first interviewed, ie,the phony, and been told by the "doctor" that he had been intimidated by a "Nigerian Army Captain".

You have to hand it to this guy he clearly has Oscar potential in dispensing with inconvenient truths.

Making "Sworn affidavits" is a very serious step to take.
What it indicates to me is firstly an oversized ego of someone unable to process the information in his head that he has been fooled but much more serious an issue is the dogmatic adherence to an immigration agenda prevalent amongst his trendy right-on PC kind. The ideologues pursuing the multiculturalist agenda are willing to throw overboard any kind of journalistic ethics worth their name.

The ego side of him feeds off an overdose of a superior feel-good smugness over and against the "bigoted" and "prejudiced" attitudes of the hoi-polloi and the ideological face is of PCDom which must be seen as correct at all times. By these means they intend to leverage into position an oppressive all-knowing all-embracing, no hiding place State, dispensing with opposition and if truth is a casualty that's No Problem.

4068ac1elhodqr

If they unplugged all that yak-yak-yak, and endless celeb-gossip-chitter-chat (nevermind the special 'ear sickness' that is the god awful 'drill rap hour') of 2FM,
and plugged RTEGold in it's place, the world would be a much, much better place.

nkl12xtw5goz70

odyssey06 wrote: »

I think the point is the 2Fm have many similar offerings in the commercial space that those 880,000 can switch to.

Agreed. It's also unfair that commercial radio stations have to compete with a taxpayer-subsidized entity. 2FM should be sold off as a private commercial station and forced to compete on a level playing field with Today FM and all the others. If it can't run profitably when others can, something is wrong.

Numerous RTE offerings don't fall within the remit of "public-service broadcasting." Pop music radio, imported Australian soaps, imported US shows and movies that can easily be watched elsewhere, knock-offs like Dancing with the Stars, and on and on — that's not public-service broadcasting.

RTE could be a very cost-effective public-service operation with one radio station and one TV channel, rather than the bloated behemoth that it became during its monopoly era.

blanch152

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Never understood why the orchestras don't come under the remit of the Arts Council.

Maybe because the Arts Council is an advisory, grant-giving and regulatory body and isn't operationally involved in arts?

weldoninhio

odyssey06 wrote: »

Yep, it's the same with soccer coverage. Back in the studio, an anchorman and 3 pundits discussing a game is way overkill.

Should be 1 pundit for most games. I expect this kind of over-staffing occurs all the way down i.e. not just what we see on screen.

Pundits got €5k a game for the last World Cup. So if there were 2 games on back to back and the used the same panel they got €10k, plus hotel accommodation (including meals and drinks) and flights in and out if needed.

CFlat

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Ray D'Arsehole is awful should not be on the telly or radio

The salaries for all should be cut by 50%

How would you like your wages cut by 50%? I'm not saying they're not overpaid inbut that's a big hit on your income when the life you live probably reflects that income.

Let's not forget, none of the staff put a gun up to the head of the DG of RTE and forced them to pay that sort of cash. FFS they head hunted Ray D'Arcy and offered him that wedge. I think though they got the hump with Communicorp for poaching Pat Kenny and they would have paid D'Arcy anything to give the two fingers to them.

Difficult times for everyone at the organisation. I worked for a company back in the day that had to lay off a whole pile of staff because of straightened times and it's not a very pleasant position to be in.

Boggles

Noemi Shapely Weakling wrote: »

RTE could be a very cost-effective public-service operation with one radio station and one TV channel, rather than the bloated behemoth that it became during its monopoly era.

There is several examples of this model in Europe, they died a death.

No one watches them and any talent was hoovered up by the commercial stations.

The reality is RTE has pretty much held it's own with 20 odd years of 30 odd billion of programming a lot of it FTA from across the sea. That's before you even get into online content.

It needs to be tweaked, not nuked.

celtic_oz

close the whole thing down, sack everyone

start again the following year with this for a start

1. No one makes more than the Taoiseach, ever, period.
2. Management staff percentage to content creators below industry standard in europe always

Palmach

Boggles wrote: »

There is several examples of this model in Europe, they died a death.

No one watches them and any talent was hoovered up by the commercial stations.

The reality is RTE has pretty much held it's own with 20 odd years of 30 odd billion of programming a lot of it FTA from across the sea. That's before you even get into online content.

It needs to be tweaked, not nuked.

Terry Prone was interviewed by PK on Newstalk this morning. She says the so called talent at RTE have no where else to go. Foreign channels are simple not sniffing around.

flazio

Just so I'm clear, if every household had an extra €160 per year, we wouldn't have a housing crisis?

Boggles

Palmach wrote: »

Terry Prone was interviewed by PK on Newstalk this morning. She says the so called talent at RTE have no where else to go. Foreign channels are simple not sniffing around.

Bit of irony there considering who she was talking to.

Bob Harris

Bob Harris wrote: »

"The 200 jobs to be cut will be on a voluntary basis and a large portion of them will include the RTÉ symphony orchestra moving to the control of the National Concert Hall"

If they can get the numbers accepting.
I went through "voluntary" redundancy procedure. I was told I was redundant, with package A if I "accepted", or refuse and challenge and get package B (much reduced) if I ended up on forced redundancy (I would have been)

This was from my union

lawred2

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

Ryan Tubridy – €495,000
Ray D'Arcy – €450,000
Joe Duffy – €389,988
Sean O’Rourke – €308,964
Marian Finucane – €300,617
Miriam O'Callaghan – €299,000
Claire Byrne – €216,000
Brian Dobson – €198,146
George Hamilton – €186,195
Mary Wilson – €185,679

It really is impossible to justify the salaries these people are getting.

Getting rid of Duffy and D'Arcy alone would save several jobs of ordinary workers.

those two must sicken the rest of the RTE staff

NSAman

blanch152 wrote: »

Maybe because the Arts Council is an advisory, grant-giving and regulatory body and isn't operationally involved in arts?

And the orchestra is not under the control of a county council yet.

RunningFlyer

I think the top presenters pay is a disgrace because it is designed in a tax-efficient way so they pay very little (if any tax) by creating companies that RTE happily pay into to avoid PRSI, PAYE contributions etc. On top of this, there are lots of other sneaky tax methods at play such as allowances, car allowances, accommodation which ultimately means they will retain most of the gross figures quoted previously.

I actually wouldn't have as much as issue if all the presenters above were PAYE employees on those salaries because they would be returning a huge amount of their gross salaries back to the exchequer. Yet RTE, as a state company, has no problem with this tax dodging because they are all on the gravy train. It all came to light a few years ago in the UK and HMRC have been cracking down on it since with the BBC so why doesn't Revenue chase it up here?

So effectively, our TV licence fee is a tax on us to help fund these presenters, yet their salaries contribute next to nothing to the exchequer in return! (I know the licence fee is distributed)

Whilst I've no issue paying the licence fee (other countries Ive lived in have taken it from tax), the quality of presenters and programming in RTE is abysmal and I just don't understand how they have the same regulars being recycled for car-crash television programmes (Who watches them?). A massive cleanout is needed but the loyalty and arrogance of RTE means nothing fundamental will change ultimately.