Tag Archives: RTE

Press Ombudsman Peter Feeney

 

This morning.

The Press Ombudsman has said 2020 was ‘a good year for Irish media as print and broadcasting rose to the challenge of broadcasting through pandemic’.

No, really.

Via RTÉ:

However, Peter Feeney said there was a huge contrast with coverage online, where he said there was a huge amount of misreporting and inaccurate information.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Feeney said what people got online essentially was “pub talk” and although social media companies took significant measures to address it, he said it is very hard to address given the sheer volume of information online.

Hic.

Meanwhile..

Mr Feeney said there were two categories of complaints relating to covid coverage: people who were unhappy with newspaper reportage, and felt that those who were opposed to vaccines and the public health programme did not get fair coverage, and those who were concerned about privacy issues.

However, he pointed out, just one covid complaint was upheld, which suggests that the newspaper coverage was accurate and correct.

Hmm.

Meanwhile…

Mr Feeney said that social media had been a huge gain for the public in general, but that it also “carries harm” and can be an aggressive environment.

Go fupp yourself, Feeney.

Press Ombudsman says media rose to Covid challenge (RTÉ)

RollingNews

This morning/afternoon.

Cork city.

Earlier…

RTÉ studios in Cork City

This morning.

A protest will take place outside the Cork city offices of RTÉ organised by the Independent Campaign for TRUTH & Proper Healthcare to highlight what it calls the station’s ‘betrayal of its duty as a public broadcaster; and will protest against its biased and one-sided reporting of the current crisis healthcare and Covid19’.

Speaking for the group, Diarmaid Ó Cadhla says:

“For over a year now RTÉ has given us daily reports of deaths and of illness spreading throughout our country, people are genuinely frightened. 

However, these reports have been less than half-truths, leading us to think that thousands have died from Covid19, when the reality is barely a few hundred.

CSO reports have shown us that there was no significant change in the overall mortality figures between 2019 and 2020; so NPHET, RTÉ and the main stream media have spinning a lie.

Today we challenge RTÉ and the other media outlets to organise proper public debate, bring on the doctors and legal experts who have been silenced, bring on the Government ‘experts’, and lets hear them all debate the issue.

RTÉ, will you do that?

In Cork, we ask RedFM and 96FM, will you organise such a balanced debate?

Anyone?/Fight!

Pic: Wikipedia

 

 

John Sudworth (left) and Yvonne Murray

This afternoon.

The BBC’s Beijing correspondent John Sudworth has left China and moved to Taiwan following pressure and threats from the Chinese authorities.

Via BBC:

He and his family were followed to the airport and into the check-in area by plainclothes police officers. His wife, Yvonne Murray, is the China correspondent for the Irish public broadcaster RTE.

Sudworth, who has won awards for his reporting on the treatment of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang region, left Beijing with his family.

The BBC says it is proud of his reporting and he remains its China correspondent.

Meanwhile, Ms Murray said:

“Two of our children were born in China, they all speak fluent Chinese, so for them it is home and it’s particularly distressing for them facing the reality that they might never be able to go back, as long as the Chinese state is so determined to target and punish journalists for simply doing their job.

“But we will try to hold on to the memories we’ve made. China is an extraordinarily colourful, culturally rich country. Friendships we forged with Chinese people over the years can’t be taken from us.

The secret police who followed us as we left – while a sad departing memory – can’t erase all the other happy memories.”

BBC China correspondent John Sudworth moves to Taiwan after threats (BBC)

Irish reporter leaves China after rise in surveillance (RTÉ)

Pics: BBC/RTÉ

This afternoon.

Dáil Eireann at the Convention Centre.

“We have an arm of the government practically going out to Dublin Airport to burn witches live on air. I’m talking about RTÉ. It’s an absolute disgrace. It is oppressive and it is driving anxiety in this state what RTÉ is doing.

“There are massive problems with free media in Ireland.The Irish Times have their hand out looking for money from the government. God Knows they’re entitled to it, they’ve been doing your bidding for a year.

“But where is the free media to come from if the only source – I’m not talking about all media –  but the primary source of income is the Department of Health, is the government?

“Of course they [RTE, Irish Times] are doing the government’s bidding, of course they’re driving the narrative, of course they are attacking people who question what is going on.

“It is oppressive and it is damaging the fabric of our society.”

Independent TD for Clare Michael McNamara

FIGHT!

Earlier: Wish You Were Here

Too Big To Fold

Last night.

Cruel sun holiday-shaming on RTÉ 1’s Prime Time.

Meanwhile…

Ooh. He’s so ‘ard.

Previously: Come Out You’re Back And Tanned

This afternoon.

RTÉ has reported a net deficit of €7.2m in 2019, according to the annual report for that pre-Covid year released today.

Via RTÉ (to be said in the voice of Fergal Bowers):

The broadcaster said there was a decline in commercial revenue in 2019 of €4.2m due to Brexit uncertainty and changes in media consumption habits.

Operating costs, including the costs of special events, were reduced by €2m while there was an increase in total revenue of €342.1m.

Licence fee income increased by a net €7.2m to €196.3m due to the €8.9m increase in public funding in Budget 2019 .

Meanwhile…

the Chair of the RTÉ board Moya Doherty said.

“The current funding model is broken, and RTÉ will face a material uncertainty about its capacity to provide the same level of services in the medium term if it is not resolved quickly and definitively,”

Save Tubs.

RTÉ reports deficit of €7.2m for 2019 (RTÊ)

RollingNews

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live.

Chair of the Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht and Fianna Fáil TD Niamh Smyth (above right) spoke with Ms Byrne briefly about the report RTÉ published yesterday concerning the five Covid-19 guidelines which were breached at a recent retirement gathering (above left) in Montrose.

Ms Byrne started by asking Ms Smyth if the report drew a line under the matter for her or did she believe there were more questions to be answered?

She said she has read the report and that “most of the questions have been answered…maybe not all of them…”.

Asked what questions hadn’t been answered, she said:

“Well, the question of how this came to be organised in the first place. Now we do accept RTÉ are saying there is a Garda investigation ongoing and that restricts some of the findings that they can communicate in the report so, you know, I suppose as a committee, we’ll have to decide does that draw a line under it or are there further questions to answer.”

Ms Smyth said the committee will be meeting tomorrow where they will deliberate the report.

Asked if RTE representatives will be appearing before the committee, Ms Smyth replied:

“Not as yet.”

Yesterday: Five Breaches

Meanwhile…