Audience Council
Wednesday, 9th November 2005
Present:
Alan McCormack, The Irish Council of Churches (Chairman);
Sheena Walsh McMahon, Leinster; Paul M. Kinsella, Leinster;
Mark Connolly, Dublin; Ruth Gallagher, Dublin; Pádraig McGinn,
Connacht/Ulster; Anthony Kelly, Munster; Oliver Donohoe,
Social Partners ICTU; Des Sheridan, Community & Voluntary
Pillar Congress Centres; Eddie Sheehy, County & City Managers'
Association; Patrick O'Leary, The Equality Authority; Maolsheachlainn
Ó Caollaí, Foras na Gaeilge; Maria Killian, Ex-Officio Member/RTÉ
Authority; Mary Gallagher McBride, Connacht/Ulster; Mary
Golden, National Children's Office; Valerie Keegan, Social
Partners IBEC; Niall Madigan, Social Partners IFA; Beverly
Hanly, RTÉ (Secretary to the Council)
Regrets:
Paul McDermott, The Irish Sports Council; Stephanie O'Callaghan,
The Arts Council; Eilís Boland, Northern Ireland; Alison
McCullagh, Northern Ireland; Adrian Ó Donnabháin, Munster;
RTÉ:
Tom Quinn; Adrian Moynes; Sheila de Courcy; Edel Ní Chuireáin;
Muirne Laffan
At the outset, the Chairman welcomed Ms Maria Killian, recently appointed Chairperson of the RTÉ Authority Programme Sub-Committee and ex officio member of the Audience Council. Ms Killian introduced herself and extended an invitation to a delegation from the Council to attend a meeting of the Programme Sub-Committee to be arranged during January 2006 .
1. Report from Secretary
The Secretary reported on various events which had taken place corporately since the Council met in September.
2. Review of Programming - September to November
Television - Young Peoples Programmes
Ms Sheila de Courcy, Commissioning Editor, Young Peoples Programmes TV was in attendance for this item.
Two members of the Council had prepared reviews of RTÉ Television's children's programming.
Children are defined as being under 18. It was pointed out that adults really should not be commenting on children's programming. The reviewers had sought the views of children/young people of their acquaintance but it would be more appropriate for RTÉ to have a structure in place such as a young people's forum to elicit their views on an ongoing basis. Research carried out by the ESRI shows that television viewing is very popular with no drop off during teenage years. From data supplied by RTÉ the most popular programmes watched by children and young people were adult programmes rather than the dedicated children's programming which featured on the DEN. News Today was mentioned as being good as it gives news from a children's perspective. Reference was made to the Children's Advertising Code which has been in place since January 2005 and the importance of adhering to it.
Ms de Courcy responded by thanking the reviewers. She outlined the policy of Young Peoples Programming and explained the various age groups at which the strands are aimed. The whole schedule is informed by making programmes which are relevant to Irish children. Children are involved in a number of ways - audience participation, texting, writing in, etc. RTÉ is actually making a lot more home produced programming for children than most other European countries.
Reference was made to the very rich interactive content of some dedicated childrens channels' websites.It was pointed out that RTÉ is constantly developing its website and working very closely with producers. A lot has been achieved and this development is ongoing.
Ms de Courcy ended by advising members to encourage any children they know to contact RTÉ. There are a lot of opportunities for them to become involved. Details are on the website.
The Chairman thanked Ms de Courcy for her contribution.
Radio - Irish Language Programming/Raidio na Gaeltachta
Ms Edel Ní Chuireáin, Leas Cheannaire, was in attendance for this item.
Again, two Council members had prepared reviews of Raidio na Gaeltachta's output.
It was felt that Raidio na Gaeltachta serves its audience well. It has grown from broadcasting 2 hours per day in 1972 into Gaeltacht areas only to the service it is today broadcasting 24/7 to the whole country. Its content is 100% home produced. It deals with the whole spectrum of topics - home and international news, music, sport, drama etc. It has fostered greater understanding between the three dialects and the non-dialect Gaelic spoken outside the Gaeltacht. There are no advertisements carried on this channel. It is funded solely by RTÉ from Licence Fee income.
In response to the presentations, Ms Ní Chuireáin said Raidio na Gaeltachta, unlike the other RTÉ radio services which are targeted at specific audiences, must cater for everyone and across all genres. Over the past couple of years, particular emphasis has been placed on developing series for young people and she cited some examples. In particular, mention was made of Anocht FM, which started in May 2005 and which caters for a younger age group and is a radical departure for Raidio na Gaeltachta in that music with English language lyrics is played but everything else is 'as Gaeilge'. It is being very well received. It is important to get young people listening to the service and the introduction of Anocht FM followed consultation with young people.
Raidio na Gaeltachta is available on the rte.ie website and the main listenership in this format would be the US. Raidio na Gaeltachta is very successful in using technology in an innovative way and mention was made of a new studio in the Mayo Gaeltacht which was opened last May which is part of the RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta policy to enable Gaeltacht Communities all over the country to contribute to programming. This brings to 6 number of ISDN facilities commissioned over the last number of years. Raidio na Gaeltachta has accumulated a rich archive of how the Irish language has developed.
The Chairman thanked Ms Ní Chuireáin for her attendance.
3. Presentation from Publishing IBD
Ms Muirne Laffan, Executive Director, RTÉ Publishing gave a detailed overview of the work of her division. RTÉ Publishing operates on a commercial basis and is self-financing. It receives no Licence Fee income. Its area of operation includes the RTÉ Guide, rte.ie website, providing content to service providers etc. Experiments with Podcasts will take place in the next couple of months and the radio programme Spectrum is currently being podcast.
Ms Laffan will follow up on some criticisms about Aertel.
The Chairman thanked Ms Laffan for her presentation.
4. Sponsorship of the Saturday Business Programme on Radio One by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland
Some concern was expressed about the appropriateness of a business programme being sponsored by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland. This was not a criticism of the programme. Mr Moynes expressed his faith in the editorial integrity of the programme whose sponsorship conforms to the organisation's policy. There are strict guidelines laid down for sponsorship and these are adhered to. Mr Moynes also explained the guidelines governing 'give aways' on programmes which are strictly monitored by the Sales & Marketing Division.
It was agreed that at the next meeting there would be a presentation from Radio Commercial Division on how commercial revenue is generated and the protocols and safeguards in place.
5. Joint Meeting with BBC NI in 2006 / Calendar of meetings 2006
The calendar as circulated was agreed. The Council agreed that they would wish to accept BBC NI's invitation for a meeting in Belfast during 2006, ideally in March. The Secretary will liaise with BBC NI in this regard and come back to the members.
6. Any Other Business
The Chairman and Secretary will liaise in the next couple of weeks with a view to preparing the draft end of year report for inclusion in the Annual Report which will then be circulated to members with a view to final sign off by mid January.
The Secretary will contact the delegation to meet the Authority Programme Sub-Committee once a date in January has been identified.
Disappointment was expressed that there was no coverage of the Dublin City Marathon and the fact that there had been very little coverage of Oireachtas na Gaeilge on the English language channels (Raidio na Gaeltachta, as a major sponsor, had had extensive coverage during the week). Reference was made to some recent schedule changes on RTÉ Radio 1 and a range of views was expressed.
7.Date of Next Meeting Wednesday,
15th February 2006