So sorry I did not get to see the offending item (blogged by Kensei) on RTE last night… For Dublin North Fianna Fail TD Michael Kennedy it was the last straw:
“Regardless of who the incumbent is, the position of An Taoiseach deserves respect, especially from our national public service broadcaster.”
“For an item like this to be given so much air time beggars belief and raises serious questions about the agenda at play in the RTE newsroom. It was obviously seen as a piece of entertainment – biased and partisan entertainment. It was the most tasteless item (I will not refer to it as ‘news’ as it clearly wasn’t) I have seen for many years.”
“It is evident that RTE management have long since given way to the celebrity culture where reporters and presenters have been allowed become commentators in constant pursuit of their own ‘celebrity cult’, rather than simply reporting the news in a straight forward manner, without their personal point of view.”
“The incoming RTE Authority should have a hard look at the direction the broadcaster is heading. Maybe a change at the top and a back to basics approach in terms of RTE’s public service remit would be a start,” concluded Deputy Kennedy.
Update: Suzy reports RTE’s apology and the game of constant attrition being waged upon it by Government Press Officers… She suggest tag #picturegate; but I prefer the next suggestion in the comments #cowengate…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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