Independent Ireland MEP candidate Niall Boylan has slammed what he described as “media bias” from the State broadcaster, after he claims he was “grilled” in the RTÉ post-election analysis after being denied airtime on a pre-election debate.
Responding on social media to a clip of an interview he did with RTÉ Prime Time, Boylan claimed that the RTÉ interviewer had treated him with “contempt.”
“I’m just curious, if (FF) Barry Andrews or (FG) Regina Doherty were guests on Prime Time live from a count centre to talk about the fact they were winning or in contention to get a seat, would they be treated with the same contempt?” he said, adding the hashtag “#MediaBias”.
“If they wanted to grill me about pre-election policy that’s fine, but they didn’t want me on last week for the Prime Time Election debate to give me that opportunity, as that might have got me more votes.”
He added: “They find it hard to even mention my name as I’m not part of the accepted establishment for the media.”
If they wanted to grill me about pre-election policy that’s fine but they didn’t want me on last week for the Prime Time Election debate to give me that opportunity as that might have got me more votes. They find it hard to even mention my name as I’m not part of the accepted…
— Niall Boylan (@Niall_Boylan) June 10, 2024
Gript reached out to RTÉ Prime Time for comment, though no reply has yet been received.
Boylan consistently criticised media handling of the election campaign in recent weeks, including during the candidate debates. In particular, he slammed RTÉ’s Prime Time European election debate for Dublin candidates, arguing that the panel was absent of immigration-critical voices.
“If [RTÉ Director-General] Kevin Bakhurst thinks he is successful in making RTÉ appeal to all, he is failing miserably,” Boylan said at the time.
“Last night’s EU debate was a fiasco, with 8 people with little or no concerns about immigration, the single biggest election issue in the Dublin constituency. They should hang their heads in shame.”
If Kevin Bakhurst thinks he is successful in making RTE appeal to all, he is failing miserably.
Last nights EU debate was a fiasco with 8 people with little or no concerns about immigration, the single biggest election issue in the Dublin constituency. They should hang their… https://t.co/WDUjL60xbu— Niall Boylan (@Niall_Boylan) June 5, 2024
Boylan was not the only individual to complain about the media’s handling of the election, either.
Around a week before election day, veteran TV3 broadcaster Vincent Browne hit out at what he described as RTÉ’s “refusal” to allocate equal time to candidates,
Veteran TV3 broadcaster Vincent Browne has slammed RTÉ’s “refusal” to give equal debate time to MEP candidates for the upcoming European election.https://t.co/As4OzNR717
— gript (@griptmedia) May 30, 2024
Fianna Fáil’s candidate for the Limerick Mayoral race, Dee Ryan, also complained ahead of an RTÉ debate that a number of independent candidates had been “excluded” from the programme, arguing that this was “fundamentally unfair” and a “disservice to the voters”.
Fianna Fáil’s candidate for Limerick Mayor has said it is “fundamentally unfair” that a number of Independent candidates are “excluded” from an upcoming RTÉ debate.
Meanwhile, RTÉ says that "fair treatment does not mean equal treatment between parties":https://t.co/2vlFeeXFnB
— gript (@griptmedia) May 22, 2024
Similarly, lecturer Rory Hearne of the Social Democrats also complained about his omission from certain debates.