RTE: Scared of its own shadow

Liveline presenter Joe Duffy nearly had a heart attack during the week when a caller made the link between Ahern’s evidence and the fact that it was given under oath.

The tribunal said he was untruthful, it didn’t say he lied.

Phew, that was a close one. Nearly had a ton of lawyers down on my head there Joe probably thought.

Marian Finucane, after coming across a newspaper headline that used the word ‘lies.

They’re calling it lies but the Tribunal referred to untruths.

Phew, nearly had a ton of lawyers down on my head there Marian probably thought.

RTE: Off air but who cares?

There is a problem with the programme link facility on RTE Radio One but RTE staff do not seem too bothered about it.

I accessed in the usual way by clicking ‘Radio’ at the bottom of the page. This leads to a page featuring all RTE stations with a ‘find a programme’ feature that includes a helpful alphabetic code.

I clicked ‘M’ and gained access to a whole range of programmes beginning with the letter ‘M’ on the various stations including Marian Finucane, the website I was looking for.

At this point the system breaks down. When I click on Marian Finucane nothing happens.

I did discover a roundabout way to the Marian Finucane website by using the search engine but it’s awkward and, naively, thinking RTE might be interested in checking out the problem I rang the station.

I really should have known better because RTE is not good at this sort of thing and invariably I come away highly stressed from such experiences.

The first lady I spoke with (both of us navigated the website as we spoke) insisted that the only means of accessing a particular programme was by typing in the URL address.

When I asked why there was a programme link facility she passed me on to another lady.

The second lady, in addition to being uncooperative, was also angry at being interrupted completing what she described as ‘her brief’.

She too advised me to type in the URL for access to the Marian Finucane website slowly reading out the address as if she was addressing a child.

I insisted on focusing on the link problem and eventually she ‘discovered’ that by clicking on the word ‘genre’ left of the alphabetical code the Marian Finucane website became assessable.

She informed me that she wasn’t responsible for maintaining the RTE website and made it abundantly clear that the conversation was over, that she was getting back to her ‘brief’.

The programme link facility is still faulty so unless listeners are prepared to spend time playing around with it or run the gauntlet of impatient and angry RTE staff the facility is, as they say, off air.

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RTE

RTE replies

I received the following email from RTE in response to my article on the Fr. Reynolds scandal.

Dear Mr Sheridan

Your email has been forwarded to me with the request that I reply on behalf of RTÉ . There are currently three inquiries taking place into the Prime Time Investigates programme that defamed Fr Reynolds. RTÉ has apologised for the inaccuracy of the programme and paid substantial damages to Fr Reynolds. It would be wrong to anticipate the outcome of those inquiries, but in the meantime the Managing Director of News and Current Affairs and the Editor of Current Affairs have stood down from their positions and the reporter and executive producer have been reassigned.

I do not know what else RTÉ can do until the inquiries report.

Yours sincerely

Peter Feeney
Head of Broadcast Compliance

'Accountability' without consequences is not accountability

Here’s a snippet from an interview with the Director General of RTE after being asked should those involved in the Fr. Reynolds scandal remain on while investigations are ongoing (Six One News).

I wasn’t directly involved in the decisions that led up to the broadcast of the programme.

But you’re editor in chief of RTE?

Absolutely, and I absolutely take absolute responsibility in that regard.

Here’s a snippet from Kevin Cardiff when he appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee of European Affairs.

My role as accounting officer is to take responsibility for these things, to deal with them when they arise, to rectify them as best I can, to account for them to this committee, to account for them to the Minister.

Brian Cowen and other politicians gave similar replies when asked about their responsibility for the financial catastrophe visited upon the nation.

This saying of the words, I accept full responsibility, without accepting the consequences of that accountability is a typical and uniquely Irish attitude among Western nations.

These people are more than happy to accept the power, privilege and enormous salaries that come as part of their jobs but absolutely refuse to accept any consequences when they make mistakes.

This inability or refusal to accept actual responsibility rather than just saying the words is a common feature of all failed states.

RTE has lost the power of its former integrity

The Kevin Cardiff scandal was analysed in detail on the RTE radio current affairs programme, Late Debate, last night.

This is not unusual; the story is a dramatic, rapidly developing news event with potentially serious consequences for those involved.

In its pre Fr. Reynolds scandal days RTEs Prime Time would also have given the story top billing but last night’s programme made no mention of the scandal.

I believe there is one of two reasons for this.

RTE management is doing the Government a favour by not focusing too much on what is a very embarrassing episode for politicians.

In return politicians will go easy on RTE management as the consequences of the Fr. Reynolds scandal begin to play out.

Or

Having gone over to the dark side RTE feels it is no longer in a position to ask the hard questions and is quickly making itself comfortable in the dank cave of darkness where bankers, politicians, higher civil servants and the Catholic Church thrive on a diet of secrecy, obfuscation, denial and arrogance.

Whatever the reason, there is one thing for certain.

RTE, and in particular Prime Time, has entered a new phase of its history whereby it will no longer possess the power of its former integrity as a means of bringing the corrupt and incompetent to account.

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Prime Time

No matter what happens, the taxpayer will pay

The board of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland is paid by the taxpayer.

The Compliance Committee, who may conduct the investigation into the RTE/Fr. Reynolds affair, is paid by the taxpayer.

If the Authority decides to employ an outside source to conduct the investigation that source will be paid by the taxpayer.

If RTE is found guilty of either breaching the regulations or failing to co-operate with the Authority the station can be fined up to €250,000.

Any fine imposed will be paid by the taxpayer.

Will John Waters step aside?

The (Catholic) religious fanatic John Waters is a member of the Compliance Committee of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) which is to investigate the circumstances that led to false allegations being made against Fr Kevin Reynolds by RTÉ.

I’m assuming that he will step aside for this particular investigation but, in Ireland, you never know.

RTE is in the process of making the biggest mistake in its history

RTE is in the process of making the biggest mistake in its history.

The national broadcaster had a simple choice following the finding that its Prime Time Investigates programme had grossly defamed parish priest Fr. Kevin Reynolds.

It could have made public all the relevant facts surrounding the case and taken severe action, including sackings, against those responsible for the debacle.

Or

It could have decided to creep into the dank cave of darkness where bankers, politicians, higher civil servants and the Catholic Church thrive on a diet of secrecy, obfuscation, denial and arrogance.

Sadly, the broadcaster is heading for the darkness of the cave.

Those in charge in RTE have clearly deluded themselves into thinking that they can bluff their way out of the affair while retaining the very high level of respect and credibility built up over many years by Prime Time and Prime Time Investigates.

They have, in effect, decided to inflict serious damage to the credibility of the organisation as a whole and 100% damage to the credibility of the Prime Time programme.

And for what?

So that those responsible for the debacle are protected from the consequences of their actions.

If they continue as they are Prime Time will rightly be seen as nothing more than a joke programme.

Lying politicians, priests, bankers and others who have, until now, rightly feared the dreaded call from Prime Time staff will now welcome the opportunity to strut the Prime Time catwalk and sneer at questions put to them by a totally discredited programme.

RTE should immediately apologise for attempting to avoid responsibility and follow that up by taking the painful but crucially necessary action to protect Prime Times’ hard won credibility.

There is no alternative.

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RTE
Prime Time

Cosmic events in Northern Ireland threatens global apocolypse

Were you ecstatic when you heard that Sinn Fein’s Barry McElduff topped the poll in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections?

What? – You never heard of McElduff? Shame on you, shame on your ignorance.

Surely you must have been riveted to your seat as commentators analysed the improvement in the UUP vote with Ross Hussey claiming 4,069 votes, outpolling his brother Derek?

What? – You never heard of Ross Hussey, you never heard of his brother Derek?

I’m shocked I tell you, shocked at your lack of interest and knowledge concerning the cosmic events taking place in Northern Ireland.

We can only be thankful that RTE, our national broadcaster is tracking, analysing, dissecting and reporting on these events in minute detail so that every citizen is kept fully informed on how McElduff, Hussey and his brother Derek are doing as our corrupt republic careers over the cliff to financial destruction.

It was agreed by all the commentators that this particular NI election was extremely boring, had a very low turnout and made no difference whatsoever to the political landscape.

But such trivial matters didn’t stop RTE extending its flagship current affairs programme, Saturday View, by a full hour to cover the earthshaking events up North.

Of the 120 minutes of news analysis a full 15 was set aside for a discussion on the financial/political catastrophe that continues to destroy the lives of almost every citizen in the republic.

But even this brief period was interrupted as events north of the border took a dramatic turn when unionist politician Jim McAllister agreed to speak to the people of Ireland on the strict condition that he would not be kept on hold while events in the republic were being discussed.

Economist Moore McDowell was in full flow discussing the latest article by Morgan Kelly outlining the ruinous state of the economy when he was dramatically cut off by RTE presenter Rachael English.

I’m so sorry to cut across you…we have another guest on the line and I’m told if we don’t go to that guest we’ll lose him and we wouldn’t like to lose Jim Allister the leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice.

There then followed an edge of the cliff discussion which began with a question of global importance – Have you been elected?

When McAllister replied in the affirmative, he was immediately faced with an even more challenging question – How significant is that development?

I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat, rooted to the spot, overwhelmed with expectation and excitement – what scintillating question was she going to ask next?

Obviously, RTE believes that the views of this extreme right wing politician, who is the sole elected member of his party and who once described Irish as a ‘Leprechaun language’, were of much greater relevance to Irish citizens than the latest warning from Morgan Kelly concerning the country’s ongoing slide into financial and political oblivion.

Recently, and obviously before RTE focused most of its resources on the NI elections, a woman sent a message to another RTE programme with a desperate plea for help.

My husband has lost his job; we’re €10,000 behind in our mortgage payments. Please, please, somebody help us.

Well, that’s all very well, RTE would say, but you’ll have to wait until we’ve analysed every possible angle arising from the infinitely more important events in Northern Ireland.

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Saturday View