In his Late Late Show monologue last night, Patrick Kielty gave tribute to the American late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show has recently been cancelled. During this tribute, Kielty offered Kimmel use of his studio, saying he was “extending the hand of free speech”.
This is laughable given the matter in which RTÉ marched in lockstep with the Government in its agenda to implement restrictions on speech.
In 2019, RTÉ made submissions to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), which called for a more “forcefully” restrictive approach to speech on Irish airwaves. This included the recommendation that the BAI should ‘ensure any harmful or prejudicial language is not allowed or legitimised through use in the media’ and that ‘the BAI should reflect more forcefully provisions relating to hate speech’’
RTÉ’s submission also spoke positively about plans to keep a vague definition of what constituted hate, which former Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee, claimed was to ensure easier and more numerous convictions under the Hate Speech Bill.
As John McGuirk has already pointed out, the RTÉ has an explicit policy of not giving airtime to climate sceptics and an “unofficial but very real policy of not platforming anyone to the political right of Michael McDowell.”
While restricting diversity of opinion, RTÉ actively promotes other forms of diversity, setting targets of a 50/50 gender balance in management, 10% non-ethnic Irish representation, 8% representation of people with disabilities, and 4% from LGBT backgrounds in terms of on-screen presence.
Amid surging populist sentiment in the lead-up to recent elections, RTÉ sought greater discretion in allocating airtime to political parties, favouring past electoral performance over current levels of support. It also proposed changes to Rule 27, which requires “fairness, objectivity, and impartiality” in the coverage of referenda.
Kielty went on to argue last night that in the 60 years the Late Late has been on air, there have been many “in power who wanted our show off air. But our bosses have never considered shutting us down”. In 1996, Andrew Marr interviewed Noam Chomsky about his book ‘Manufactured Consent’. Marr criticised Chomsky for suggesting that mainstream journalists pushed a narrative, suggesting that Chomsky could not accuse him of bias without evidence of deliberate suppression. Chomsky replied “’I’m not saying you’re self-censoring. I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is, if you believed something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.”
Only 40% of the public now believe that RTÉ is trustworthy. A big aspect of RTÉ’s trust problem is that while the public can see all the racial and sexual diversity of the island reflected back at them, they can’t see their own beliefs and concerns on air. RTÉ’s coverage of the topics and problems that have gripped the island in recent years has more resembled schoolmarm lecturing than reasoned and open debate.
If Kielty’s concerns about Kimmel are correct, this is an affirmation of Chomsky’s point. There has been a clear changing of the guard in terms of the individuals and ideology that govern the United States of America, but it’s worth remembering that while Kimmel reflected elite sentiment, much like RTÉ, he was a cheerleader of the same style of censorship he has come afoul of.
The Late Late Show is still on air, not in my opinion despite RTÉ’s vociferous support for restrictions on freedom of speech, but because of it. If Patrick doubts this, he should ask himself if he would still be sitting in that chair had he stood up for Kevin Myers or George Hook when they were cancelled.
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Dean Céitinn