RTÉ Audience Council Communique
Thursday, 8th November 2007
Present:
Paul M. Kinsella, Leinster (Chairman); Mark Connolly, Dublin; Alison McCullagh, Northern Ireland; Des Sheridan, Community and Voluntary Pillar; Ruth Gallagher, Dublin; Niall Madigan, IFA; Sheena Walsh McMahon, Leinster; Paul McDermott, Irish Sports Council; Eilis Boland, Northern Ireland; Patrick O’Leary, Equality Authority; Pádraig McGinn, Connaught/Ulster; Valerie Keegan, IBEC; Stephanie O’Callaghan, Arts Council; Ian Malcolm, RTÉ Authority; Beverly Hanly, RTÉ, Secretary to Audience Council
Regrets: Mary Gallagher McBride, Connacht/Ulster; Eddie Sheehy, City and County Managers’ Association; Maolsheachlainn Ó Caollaí, Foras na Gaeilge; Adrian Ó Donnabháin, Munster; Anthony Kelly, Munster; Anne O’Donnell, Office of the Minister for Children;;
RTÉ: Cathal Goan, Director-General, Tom Quinn, RTÉ Group Secretary and Adrian Moynes, Managing Director Radio
Secretary's Report
The Secretary gave an update on events since the last meeting, including a meeting between the Chairman, Secretary and RTÉ Group Secretary and the BBC National Trustee for Northern Ireland and Head of Accountability and Governance BBCNI in October. In this regard, the Chairman read out a letter which he had received from the National Trustee following the meeting. It had been agreed that there would be a joint meeting of the two Councils in the first half of 2008 and areas of mutual interest would be investigated.
The Secretary also informed the Council that Oliver Donohue, ICTU, had tendered his resignation. His replacement has not yet been nominated.
Recent Programming
There were compliments for Prosperity (but the scheduling of the first episode against At Home with the Clearys was questioned), Hidden History, Prime Time, Champions League (coverage to be the best), Nationwide, Judging Dev, Hardest Job in the World – J.M. Barroso, the documentary on the Buttevant train disaster) and Prime Time (26/07/07) on IVF which, while being very technical, was most worthwhile.
While the News is considered 'excellent' there was a suggestion that consideration might be given to having more coverage of non national events - the elections in Australia were cited as an example. The departure of Vincent Browne was regretted. Some concerns were expressed about some of the topics covered by Liveline. The return of the arts programme on radio was to be welcomed. Concern was expressed about the RTÉ's coverage of crime and some recent events were cited as examples. Concern was also expressed about what were described as 'lighter' items in some news bulletins. It was pointed out that editors must compile bulletins which cater for as many people as possible and this balance can sometimes be difficult to achieve. It was suggested that it might be helpful if RTÉ 'took the lead' on environmental issues, for example visit some countries where incineration does work. There was some disappointment that the Flight of the Earls commemoration, which was a significant event, did not attract the same amount of coverage on RTÉ as it did on BBC. A general discussion on coverage of minority sports also took place.
RTÉ was to be commended on the evolution of the podcasting and streaming of its programmes and the suggestion was made that it now look at video streaming (MP4).
The Council requested a presentation from Acceptance Viewers at its next meeting.
Draft Final Report and Recommendations for the Future
This meeting was to be the final one of the current Council but the RTÉ Group Secretary at the commencement of this discussion informed the Council that in the absence of enactment of the legislation, the Authority intended to recommend to the Minister for Communications that the term of this Council be extended for a further year and he hoped that members would agree to serve for another year. Some issues which had been the cause of concern over the lifetime of this Council, (e.g. non-attendance, quorum, vice-chairman) would be looked at and the Standing Orders amended accordingly. The proposal being put forward at today's meeting was that the Draft Report and Recommendations for the Future be agreed and forwarded to the Authority for consideration at its meeting on 22nd November. The Chairman of the Authority's Programme Sub-Committee said he would welcome the continuation of the Council for a further year with some amendments as mentioned earlier to the Standing Orders.
A wide ranging discussion took place and, due to time constraints, it was agreed that members would consider both documents over the next few days and they were asked to submit comments to the Secretary by close of business on Wednesday, 14th November to facilitate circulation to the Authority. Appreciation was expressed to those involved in compiling the draft report.
The Director-General joined the meeting at its conclusion. He thanked the current and previous Chairmen for their contributions over the years. He noted this was the first time RTÉ had had an Audience Council. Its establishment arose from two things: RTÉ wanted to have a more focussed point of reference of the impact of its programming on the audience and it needed to be seen to act in a transparent way. He has found it most heartening that the RTÉ executives who have met with the Council have been struck by the commitment of the members and have brought back their views to their RTÉ departments. He cannot guarantee that every recommendation will be taken on board but they are all considered. The next step is to have a better engagement with the audience. He noted the Authority Programme Sub-Committee Chairman's commitment to the Council. He said that this Council has been a great model and he hopes it will be continued and that recommendation has already been made to the Department. He would hope that the Bill would be published in January with a view to being enacted by June. He concluded by thanking everyone for their commitment and said he looked forward to meeting them again in 2008.
The Chairman thanked the Director-General for his commitment over the past four years. He also thanked the RTÉ Group Secretary and Managing Director Radio for their input and guidance during the Council's term and the Council's Secretary for her excellent work for and support to the Council.