RTÉ Authority members were yesterday briefed on the circumstances surrounding the broadcasting of the documentary High Society. Ronan McGreevyreports.
The assessment given to them by RTÉ 's managing director of television Noel Curran drew attention to where the station may have fallen down in its broadcasting of the two-part documentary which included an allegation that a Government Minister snorted cocaine.
RTÉ has come under pressure from the Government to substantiate the allegation, especially now that the journalist and broadcaster Justine Delaney Wilson, who did the original interview, has admitted to "wiping" the recording.
RTÉ Authority chairwoman Mary Finan said the nine members of the authority were impressed with Mr Curran's candour and his initial findings which were based on his preliminary report. The full report is expected to be completed in mid-December.
Ms Finan said there was a "full discussion and exchange of views". "He (Mr Curran) was absolutely forthcoming with every scrap of information. He was completely open and we were very happy with the scope and the throughness of the investigation that is being conducted and the process he is using," she said.
"He gave us a full account of what happened. He did point out where there was some weaknesses in the whole process."
The authority intends to make its views on the controversy known when the full report is published in December and will then make recommendations if they are needed.
Gill & Macmillan, which published the book on which the documentary was based, said it "made a mistake" in suggesting that some of its employees had heard the interview with the Minister.
In a report in the Sunday Times on October 28th, a spokeswoman is reported to have said that the publisher and its lawyers had listened to a recording of the interview with the Minister and had kept two copies of the tape.
Gill & Macmillan managing director Dermot O'Dwyer said the admission was as a result of a mix-up between the editorial director and the company's publicist over what interviews were taped.
"There was confusion between our editorial department and our publicity department over whether all our interviews were taped. It was a simple mistake and we hold our hands up."