RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

I haven't posted on this thread for a while so I'll just say what I think from where we stand right now, and that is that Tubridy will be back. Mid-September at the latest, possibly in 3-4 weeks when things are still a bit quiet over the school holidays. No TD's around to hammer him in the Dail either.

I think it's a mistake for a few reasons;

There's a cancer in RTE, not just among the celebs and D-listers, but also amongst those who work there, Bakhurst had the opportunity to lay down a marker, state Tubridy's position as being untenable and to get rid of him. He should have done it by this week, to give fair hearing to Tubridy, but he hasn't and that to me is an sign that he is stating on.

Bakhurst, by laying down a marker could have swept the top layers of sour cream off the organisation and massively reduced the wage bill. Show us where the saved money is going and he gets some breathing space. He could also have tackled the high wages in there in general by showing that cuts are being made at the top, but he looks to fail here as well.

I said in a previous post that I'd like to see the wages of the Top 100 in there and was frankly surprised to see that nr. 100 is on €116,000 p.a. For a place that openly offers a poor product in many places that is too much. We need to see how much the Top 300 are on at this stage.

There's other issues such as the rampant nepotism in the place, as an example many of the studio cameramen belong to about four different families. A closed shop, on crazy overtime and work conditions, backed up by the unions.

Bakhurst, Ironically came in at the perfect time. He has a bit of a chance to wipe the place clean of all bacteria and start with a clean slate. Sadly, he's not the right person for the job and he won't do any meaningful reform. He could start with Tubridy, but he won't.

I always thought that the reports on the Tubridy payments from RTE News were a bit venomous, there seemed to be plenty of glee at some sort of revenge that the lesser minions were dealing out to the big boys, and I've no doubt that there's a poor atmosphere in there now, especially that the main players have deserted the sinking ship on big pension plans.

Anyway, I expect to see a colour piece on Tubridy in the Sindo or similar. Stock phrases drafted by NK should run like; "hurting inside", "regret", "sorrow", "can understand the pain I caused", "long road back that I want to take on with my fans", "build up trust again", "kindness of tens of thousands of well wishers". This will include a photo of Tubs looking straight down the lens, probably on a beach in Connemara where he has spent hundreds of hours pacing up and down, wracked by guilt and remorse etc. etc.

The first radio programme may have tears, certainly a quivering voice, and all from a man who's biggest regret is that he was caught.

Kevin Bakhurst will fiddle that with the Sindo and NK. Bakhurst has already let it be known to us that he's a big friend of Tubridy. Tubridy may have put out the feelers elsewhere for another job, in the UK or Cape Cod with the Irish-Democrats, and I think he's been told that it's a no-no from them.

He has nothing else here, his name is mud with so many people that he can't take on a proper PR job for several years. if ever. So he has to bet it all on RTE. And Bakhurst is his only way back in there. And because Bakhurst is taking so much time, I reckon the deal is done and Tubridy will be back sooner rather than later. The blame will be placed on those who jumped the sinking ship and Tubs will have his "innocent man wrongly accused" tag.

Anyway, I've given up on the story as I reckon that's the way it'll pan out. FF were rehabilitated here fairly quickly. Tubridy will be forgiven by those in power a lot faster.

Good post Kev, completely agree. If I knew nothing about Bakhurst or his history with RTE, the gormless look on his face and the general way he carried himself in the committee would just give me one vibe, a man who is keen to make this debacle go away and get back to business as usual within the organisation.

A serious DG would be making a statement by deciding to either A) dispense with Tubridy immediately or B) if for whatever legal reasons this proves difficult, at the very least move him off the main stage for the remainder of whatever bloody arrangement he still has and THEN dispense with him. But we all know Tubbers will be back on air sooner than you can say 'delicious'

The reality is Bakurst has history at RTE, isnt a new broom with no prior relationships or baggage and probably feels obligated to dig out his old buddies here. More than that, I just don't believe he has the inclination or stomach for a root and branch RTE reform. Why would he? It's 50% funded by a licence fee and the government will bail out any deficit. He just needs to make the right noises, sweep some dirt under a rug and call it job done. All is now well in Paradise. Pure joke. But that's Ireland.

Agree with KevRossi. Tubs will be back, Bathurst doesn't seem to have the will or skills to reform. In about a decade, maybe less, this will blow up again and 2023 will be looked on as another missed opportunity. Truly nauseating.

You effectively got a credit note. They don't expire, meaning you can stop purchasing them until you decide to pay the license fee.

They could become a collectors item in the near future.

Of course tradaditional broadcasting won't go away immediately, and nor should it, but we have to remember that it is one format among many. If we prop up a national broadcaster with license or tax money we are propping to a degree up the older formats rather than being format-neutral as we should be. Look at the failure to get DAB+ off the ground and also the general lack of effort put in to develop a working web-based player. RTE simply aren't interested. All the innovation - what there is of it - has come from outside.

This is why I argue that it is content that should be funded and not broadcasters. Funding primarily a single broadcaster the way we do here leads to a lopsided and stifled market.

It hasn't gone away.

We're being told that he has an avid 'female' fan base...

But who are they? Only folks I've ever seen be all 'Ryan is an INNOCENT MAN' are people who work as broadcasters, be it on the radio, or podcasts, or occasionally pop up on a program dumped on the RTE player/ segment on an RTE midday show that nobody sees because they're at work.

His co-workers, as in go to work every single day at the RTE offices, have never spoken up in favour of him staying on at his gig.

I could throw a stone in any direction, and I wouldn't be able to find a single supporter of him. So I genuinely question this supposed fanbase. I could find supporters of Marty Morrissey, even if I disagree with their opinion, but Tubridy, nope.