A politician with the balls (forgive me) to stand up and say what a lot of people are thinking – that RTE should be cut loose from public funding and left to its own devices – might quickly win the hearts and minds of a great many more voters than conventional wisdom suggests.
Sinn Féin’s promise isn’t quite what it seems
As ever in Ireland, a big change will happen slowly, and then all at once.
At some point in the future, a Government is going to have to decide whether RTE has a future in its current form at all
Which makes me ask: Where’s the imagination?
RTE is still spending vast amounts of taxpayer cash, for very dubious returns.
In such an environment, the argument for public funding of RTE will get weaker over time, not stronger.
What RTE has in common with the Roman Catholic Church.
How do you feel, in short, about all of this if you are Miriam O’Callaghan or Claire Byrne or some other highly paid presenter?
The public wants somebody to pay for this mess, and that person must be someone they can identify with.
“If it was Sharon Ní Bheoláin or Gráinne Seoige, the numbers would be reversed.”
Let’s see what happens when their existence depends on serving the public, rather than being served by the public.