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Larry Donnelly Public service journalism is so important in a democracy - just look at the US

Our columnist looks at the RTÉ mess and asks what next for the embattled broadcaster.

BEFORE SKETCHING OUT a few thoughts on the future of RTÉ in the wake of revelations about money that was paid to Ryan Tubridy, as virtually everybody else on this island has at this stage, it is important that I set out a couple of due disclosures.

It is a truism that Ireland is a small country with only ever one degree of separation between us. With regard to the fourth estate, it is even smaller, often with zero degrees of separation.

First, as my critics are fond of reminding those who peruse social media channels and comment sections, my wife, Eileen Whelan, is a news presenter with the national broadcaster. Second, Ryan Tubridy has always been kind to and supportive of me and my family. He interviewed me on his radio programme with great sensitivity and his characteristic warmth after I wrote in this space on the subject of my late father’s failing health.

Ryan is also an enthusiastic devotee of and a past participant in the Kennedy Summer School, which is an annual festival of Irish and American history, culture and politics in New Ross and of which I am a co-director (we are non-profit and pay no fees to speakers). I cannot and will not say a bad word about him as a person.

Error of judgement

Undeniably, though, he has made a mistake, a big one at that. He is being held to account for it in the court of public opinion at the moment. And it appears that things will get a lot worse for him before they improve. His stature has shrunk. Many of his fans are extremely disappointed.

When the news broke that he had accepted considerably more money from RTÉ than had been reported, I was on Cape Cod. Like a substantial, probably older slice of this country’s citizenry, I was gripped immediately by this startling development and was glued to my phone for hours.

The reaction of my Boston friends could aptly be described as baffled, scornful and wholly indifferent.

So jaded are they by a warped and diminished media ecosystem in the United States that a pal retorted: “the guy got a few extra bucks… good for him… what’s the big deal… you actually believe that journalists are on the level?” Here, fortunately, notwithstanding the Irish population’s collective capacity for cynicism, attitudes haven’t – or at least hadn’t – reached this nadir. We generally expect more.

That is not to say that there weren’t storm clouds on the horizon prior to what we have learned recently. As a young man in his twenties put it to me while every print, broadcast and online outlet was fixated on the inner workings and practices at Montrose, “why is this dominating all the headlines? RTÉ means absolutely nothing to me or any of my friends… the only time we ever watch it is for Ireland matches.”

Committee hearings

To this longer-term crisis facing all mainstream, legacy media organs can now be added a massive problem of its own making. Among other investigations, Minister Catherine Martin has announced an “independent, root and branch examination” of RTÉ in the form of concurrent, parallel reviews: of governance and culture and of contractor fees, human resources and associated matters.

The payments made to Ryan Tubridy, as well as some of the excessively sweet deals RTÉ personalities evidently have been availing of, make it clear that the latter is warranted.

The abysmal performance of executives when summoned by the various Oireachtas committees helped to highlight why the former is badly needed. As an aside, it is positively shocking that they were not better prepared to answer the probing questions that were asked when anyone with a pulse was fully aware that, with a large, infuriated audience tuning in, politicians would be going for the jugular.

More troubling than the lack of readiness were the repeated statements to the effect that there was a single barter account. This claim was subsequently shown to be false. RTÉ executives were misleading the committee or manifesting their ignorance. Neither possible transgression is excusable.

The Oireachtas Committee on Media has received documents with further disturbing details. Ryan Tubridy and his agent, Noel Kelly, have agreed to come forward and explain themselves next week. Soundings from politicians suggest strongly that “heads are going to roll” – perhaps imminently.

Where this will all wind up ultimately is anyone’s guess. When the dust eventually begins to settle, however, there are two imperatives in my estimation. First is that the increasingly inevitable harsh consequences for RTÉ vis a vis remuneration and terms and conditions for its people must not be felt by already disadvantaged freelancers and low-paid employees. I can imagine how sickened and angry they are today.

Second is that the “media fund” – intended to bolster “the wider media and journalism sector at local, regional and national levels” beyond RTÉ and proposed by Government following the publication of the Report of the Future of Media Commission last year – should commence operation with a very healthy account balance.

‘Pain and outrage’ 

It is foolhardy to think that RTÉ is the sole entity in Ireland engaged in public service journalism. The others deserve the opportunity to do more and access to the financial resources required to flourish. Indeed, they continue to do excellent work, typically on shoestring budgets. Their “talent” are not routinely allocated generous perks and bonuses.

Pain and outrage have been palpable in the remarks of well-respected professionals within the besieged organisation, such as Emma O’Kelly, Paul Cunningham and Orla O’Donnell. The despondent sentiments they voiced are shared by the vast majority of their colleagues who do what they do – whether in front of a microphone or behind the scenes – for all the right reasons.

We can only wish them the very best of luck as they embark on the long process of rebuilding trust and taking back RTÉ. For, if the appalling vista that is the media landscape in the US can teach us anything, it is that we need good public service journalism in 2023.

Larry Donnelly is a Boston lawyer, a Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with TheJournal.ie.

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    Mute calum Tierney
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:05 PM

    Cheers Larry…Nice bit of cheerleading ! But RTE are done..!!!

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:14 PM

    @calum Tierney: they’re not. Reform is absolutely needed, but our democracy needs public service broadcasting.

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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:16 PM

    @calum Tierney: not at all done. People have been saying for the last 20+ years that RTÉ are done and they are still here and will remain. This is probably the best thing that has happened to RTÉ because massive reform and transparency is well overdue.

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    Mute send
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    Jul 9th 2023, 1:17 AM

    @Roj Blake: what democracy wud that be ???

    28
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    Mute Renshai Renshai
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:22 PM

    RTE is merely the mouthpiece of the FFFG junta!

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:02 PM

    @Renshai Renshai: pure manure, if you bother to look at the representation on their current affairs programmes that’s certainly not the case, in fact the fringe ultra left and anti choice TDs get disproportionate airtime.

    126
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    Mute Paddy Keane
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    Jul 8th 2023, 10:34 PM

    @Renshai Renshai: One of the major issues in Ireland is the absence of significant opposition.

    85
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    Mute Pat the Baker
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:41 PM

    Public service broadcasting is representative of the public it is serving – RTE is not and never has been. It is little more than the propaganda machine for Fianna Fail & Fine Gael. It only represents acceptable middle-class groupthink – nothing else.

    294
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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:03 PM

    @Pat the Baker: pure manure, if you bother to look at the representation on their current affairs programmes that’s certainly not the case, in fact the fringe ultra left and anti choice TDs get disproportionate airtime.

    53
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    Mute Harry R
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:20 PM

    RTE needs to decide whether it is a public service broadcaster or a commercial broadcaster – it cannot be both.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:22 PM

    @Harry R: Agreed. Fintan O’Toole has a good article on this in The Irish Times today.

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:33 PM

    @Harry R: Why? 71% of BBC’s revenue comes from the licence fee and the remaining 29% comes my from commercial and other activities (such as royalties and rental incomes).

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:02 PM

    @Harry R: why not

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    Mute Brendan McCarron
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    Jul 8th 2023, 10:11 PM

    @Pat Barry: I’d argue its been eons since the BBC could be viewed as a pure public broadcast service but the fact remains that even so, they don’t run commercial breaks in their programming.

    That then makes a broader distinction with RTE being PBS.

    Let the State create a true PBS for Ireland and RTE go subscription model and we’ll see how long they continue with their salary choices.

    46
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    Mute Ordinary Bloke
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:55 PM

    RTE has been abysmally one-sided and biased on the Ukraine conflict. There has been zero effort to understand and appreciate the other side’s point of view. They exert as much effort in investigative journalism as the news presenter does in reading off the teleprompter. Their job is to parrot the government message, and its masters message from Brussels / Washington DC. And woe to anyone who steps out of line. They do not inform us. They want us all to be mushrooms … kept in the dark and fed bulls**t.

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    Mute Off The Ball
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    Jul 8th 2023, 11:57 PM

    @Ordinary Bloke: B S of the highest order. One wonders who you actually represent?

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Jul 9th 2023, 12:36 AM

    @Ordinary Bloke: You clearly are Putin’s mushroom.

    34
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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:08 PM

    Larry, skip the RTE boosting and tell us about the horrors of Hunter Biden’s laptop, contents so disgusting that members of the Vice Squad almost retched.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:21 PM

    @Tony Murphy: Hunter Biden’s laptop? What has that got to do with anything?

    128
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    Mute JedBartlett
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:41 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: It’ll have an awful lot to do with the run up to next years election believe you me.

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    Mute Brendan Coyne
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    Jul 9th 2023, 1:36 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: because larry is another leftist muppet and will never report the truth

    52
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    Mute Nick Vasilakis
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    Jul 9th 2023, 8:43 AM

    @JedBartlett: I wasn’t aware we were having elections next year…

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    Mute Mick Hanna
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:55 PM

    Really? Just look at Fox news. BTW, if Democracy is so important, why is it the United States has more choices of Breakfast cereals than political parties? RTE are a government mouthpiece and sometimes you need more than that. Both RTE and their government buddies need to cop on, it’s time to go Subscription and leave struggling families Alone!!!

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:05 PM

    @Mick Hanna: pure manure, if you bother to look at the representation on their current affairs programmes that’s certainly not the case, in fact the fringe ultra left and anti choice TDs get disproportionate airtime.

    29
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    Mute Mick Hanna
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:24 PM

    @Roj Blake: I take it you must have a vested interest in keeping rte in flip flops.

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:48 PM

    @Mick Hanna: anyone who values democracy knows the importance of public service broadcasting

    28
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    Mute Mick Hanna
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    Jul 8th 2023, 10:49 PM

    @Roj Blake: It never bothered me, IT’S the Same s#!t different day. What really bothers me, IS NO damn improvement for the ordinary voters. RTE ARE NOT, THAT important in the long run. They toe the government line, no matter who gets in!

    62
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    Mute Sean
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:43 PM

    We’ve reached peak cringe from Larry here. Him defending Tubs is like a fox defending chicken snatchers

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    Mute Patrick Presley
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:30 PM

    Journalistically RTE is excellent. Unfortunately it’s the so-called Top Talent and complicit management that have created this mess.

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    Mute Chris O'Brien
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    Jul 8th 2023, 9:18 PM

    Ireland hasn’t had decent media in its entire history.

    And there’s not really any hope of that changing.

    90
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    Mute UCD Trinity
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:32 PM

    RTE should be renamed ETR
    Dee Forbes should be brough back as Chair of the Board (not the Executive Board, that is Siun current job)
    Siun should be made CFO (Current post of Richard ‘ i dont know my salary’ Collins)
    As Richard Collins has no interest in what he currently earns, he can be shifted to Assistant Head Janitor, with primary responsibility of sweeping the floors in Reception and Common areas (being in staff areas would probably be too much for him, be hard to keep track of both Common/Public areas and Staff areas, he’ll get overwhelmed)
    Tubridy should be made Head of Commercial Division, (I mean, he did a great Toy Show apparently, so he’s apparently brilliant in that respect)
    Noel Kelly should be either given his choice of job, or at very least Assistant DG, as he seems to have magical powers which bends people action to his needs and wants.
    Oh, and Claire Byrne should be thrown onto front Reception. Not much good for anything else imo.
    Any further HR Consultant i will have to charge a fee. Or be given a free loan of a car. Not a Renault thought. They are crap.

    63
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    Mute alan
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    Jul 8th 2023, 8:39 PM

    @UCD Trinity: interestingly, Claire Byrne gave an identical defense of her limited knowledge of her income live on air. Had never sought extra money. Of course, this doesn’t mean she has never received any. Tubridy must be raging.

    63
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    Mute rory Mcgovern
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    Jul 8th 2023, 11:00 PM

    Larry of course your friends in boston are not bothered about your pal ryan cheating because it is not their taxes who fund rte. It is a disgrace that your pal is still getting paid. He is out of contract. Only in ireland.

    78
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    Mute Nick Cahill
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    Jul 8th 2023, 10:06 PM

    The one thing about a pompous person is that it can make you become blind to the damage you do to the social discourse of the time.The author is a pompous person, arro gant and self righteous. I’m all for free speech but your voice should be allocated to a very hard to find frequency.

    76
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    Mute Monetpenny
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    Jul 9th 2023, 1:06 AM

    Ryan Tubridy is an establishment propogandist who continuously told political lies to his viewers.
    Because Larry also tells the same lies he thinks Tubs is a great lad.

    63
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    Mute Donal Ronan
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    Jul 8th 2023, 11:49 PM

    The only journalism we have in the country at the moment is ontheditch.
    It may have it’s own agenda, but by God it has put the wind up the politicians and other dodgy connected chancers.
    Not one of them have sued, so they must be telling some truths.

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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jul 9th 2023, 9:38 AM

    @Donal Ronan: Also GRIPT.

    25
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    Mute Monetpenny
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    Jul 9th 2023, 9:36 AM

    @ Liam O’Connor: the point is RTE doesn’t do ‘news’. RTE are propogandists. It sounds like a right-wing conspiracy theory but RTE are not a ‘news organisation’.
    I have a friend who grew up in a communist country & she said years ago that RTE was the most biased tv station she’d ever seen.
    RTE (& other Irish media outlets) suppress stories.
    The only good job RTE does is convincing people that they do a good job at all.

    29
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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jul 9th 2023, 9:40 AM

    @Monetpenny: Excellent observations.

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    Mute Liam O'Connor
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    Jul 9th 2023, 12:08 AM

    Let’s for arguments sake say rte is ” closed” tomorrow morning. What alternatives are people suggesting.for there news consumption with an Irish focus.

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    Mute Jon Smith
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    Jul 9th 2023, 11:49 AM

    I’m so excited. I feel a tribunal coming. There hasn’t been one of them for years. Who knows, rte could yet salvage something and make a musical out of it. Why not, they repeat everything else!.

    6
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    Mute Rodger Waters
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    Jul 8th 2023, 11:01 PM

    We do need it & Old Tubs has been wrongly vilified imo, I’d blame RTÈ for the stupid contract in the 1st place. One of our better & more popular broadcaster will leave & that is wrong.

    9
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