The Government’s bailout of RTE is, in essence, a full-blown surrender to those members of the public who have decided that they shall no longer pay a television licence. The €56m cash injection – coming on the heels of an announcement of wide-ranging job cuts – is necessary only and entirely because a large number of citizens have decided that they shall no longer be funding RTE directly. The Government has now been forced to dip into general funds to cover the shortfall, and, whether it realises it in this moment or not, RTE has been forced to accept that its operations will never attain the same scale again.
It is a significant moment, and while it may forestall a further deterioration in RTE’s position, the broadcaster will never again attain the dominant position that it is losing.
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As far as RTE is concerned, the audience has left the theatre,leaving the actors to perform to an empy auditorium.
RTE has no relevance or credibility, it has been exposed as the propaganda arm of the Regime and the Enemy of the Irish Nation.
The Regime needs its Propaganda outlet desperately,It is the main tool to control a gullible and naive People.
It is again throwing Taxpayers money at RTE in a futile exercise to keep it afloat/
RTE may stagger along ,but it is just ignored as a purveyor of Fake News.
The Alternative Independent internet Media of citizen journalists reigns supreme as the true Resistance to this diabolic,corrupt Regime of incompetent fools and charlatans.
Well said
News and sport is all rte needs to do. I still haven’t an iota of trust in them however.
I personally think Virgin has surpassed them in terms of quality in sports coverage. Especially for the Rugby World Cup.
The news is Fake and the sport is a distraction.
‘Joe Duffy The Musical’ will turn around RTÉ’s fortunes.
Like the Toy Show?
Perhaps we could have Joe Duffy stuffed and mounted as a pirouette ballet dancer in a music box. It would not be any worse that the real thing.
My sense is that RTE is anachronistic, and it’s new technology that has contributed very much to that change, and this decline will continue with the younger generations. Smart phones, “Online” access is now so immediate, so much more diverse and easily accessible etc. Congrats to Gript Media and you John for spotting this development early on with your online media service which I look forward each day to your incisive and analytical coverage of events and issues.
I don’t buy nor read the MSM newspapers for some years now. As for RTE I recall very clearly as a boy of 11 years old staying up to watch the opening night of Telefís Éireann with compere Éamon Andrews on New Years eve 1961. Yes we had a TV back then, a “PYE” brand TV set assembled in a factory in Dundrum/Clonskeagh from memory with a black & white picture. These days Tbh, I only watch sport now on RTE. As Bob Dylan sang “The times, they are a changing” 🤪😜
I rarely watch TV. However, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed ” Smother”. I also felt ” Normal People” was quite well done. Nationwide can be interesting and Grow your own programmes. After a while, the set formula in most programmes tends to stand out more than the content. A greatly slimmed down RTE is what is needed.
I pay the licence for the sake of peace. I resent contributing to the salaries of Claire Byrne, Katy Hannon and other presenters who fail to convince me of their impartiality
After a hard fought and decades long campaign of not paying the license fee I am now declaring complete victory. After 43 years of non payment the rest of the country has come around to my point of view. The problem for me is that as I stopped watching RTEs crap about twenty years ago I have no idea what it wad that the rest of the country saw that made the. Conclude That enough is enough. Perhaps the non entity who is doing the Late Late Show now could have Ryan Tuberdy on as a guest and ask him why he is hated so much that his downfall brought the station down with him. Let’s see how brave RTE are.