RT╔ newsroom bosses were this week shocked by the sudden resignation of Industry and Employment Editor Peter Cluskey, who stepped down on Monday. A long-time staff member of RT╔ news, Cluskey has not told his former employers what his next career move will be. He was previously Industry and Employment correspondent, but was promoted to editor earlier this year.
Although best-known for his work on industry issues, Cluskey is also considered a specialist on the Middle East, having travelled frequently to Israel and Lebanon to report for RT╔.
Former TV3 news anchor Claire Byrne is set to rejoin the channel to present its breakfast show, Ireland AM. She replaces Emma Buckley, who has resigned after just one year in the job. Since January, Byrne has been working in London as a news anchor for Channel 5. Prior to that, she worked for TV3 as a reporter and news anchor for the breakfast news section of Ireland AM. Speaking on her move from news into breakfast TV, Byrne said: "TV3 made me a great offer to do a format and a programme that I'm really keen to do." She returns to Ballymount to co-host Ireland AM with Mark Cagney, from November 1st.
RT╔ received more than 370 submissions from independent producers in its most recent commissioning round, which closed earlier this month. The independent productions unit sought proposals for documentaries in the True Lives series, as well as documentary submissions in the area of regional programming. The vast majority of proposals were for the True Lives strand.
The closing date for TG4's next commissioning round is October 12th. The channel is seeking proposals for single documentaries, documentary series, travel series, music series, single dramas, drama series and comedy-drama series. In a novel move, TG4 is also looking for submissions from independent producers for theme nights in the schedule. This would involve devoting up to three hours of the evening schedule to a particular theme.
TG4 says the theme night title should consist of an evocative phrase with imaginative possibilities. Further details can be obtained from TG4's website www.tg4.ie.
In the US, network TV schedules got back to some semblance of normality after massive disruption in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. The major networks postponed last week's planned launch of the autumn schedules, but will start into their new prime-time schedules from Monday. Late night entertainment shows returned to the airwaves, but their usual light-heartedness was replaced by a more sombre and sometimes emotional tone. On Monday, the first guest on David Letterman's Late Show was CBS's veteran news anchor Dan Rather, who broke down twice during the interview. Rather anchored CBS's round-the-clock coverage of the attacks for 15 hours a day. He became overcome with emotion when talking about the search by New York firefightersfor survivors and then apologised to Letterman: "I get paid not to let it show, and I'm sorry about that."
On Tuesday, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night With Conan O'Brien returned and they too abandoned their usual comedy formats to focus on the attacks.
Meanwhile, ABC has made a decision not to show the pictures of the two hijacked planes crashing into the World Trade Centre, other than in exceptional circumstances. ABC news president David Westin told his staff not to use pictures of the attack, the resulting fireball or the collapse of the twin towers. "I was concerned it was becoming like wallpaper," Westin said.
"There's a temptation in television to always go to the most powerful image. I don't think it's necessary to tell the story. It's enough already." The ABC will instead use still photographs of the attack if a story requires it.
The Conservative party has criticised the appointment of a former Labour party member as chairman of the BBC. The Tories accused the British government and Tony Blair of stuffing the corporation with cronies after it was announced that multi-millionaire Gavyn Davies was selected for the job.
Davies has made no secret of his close ties with the Labour party. He was an unofficial adviser to the chancellor, Gordon Brown - for whom his wife works - and he has donated several thousand pounds to the party. The BBC's director general, Greg Dyke, is also affiliated with Labour. Both men resigned their Labour party membership on taking up the BBC posts.
Davies has been vice-chairman of the BBC for eight months and is an economist at the finance house, Goldman Sachs. He was quick to dismiss suggestions that his political allegiances would cause any conflict of interest. "It is without doubt the greatest thrill and privilege of my professional life to have emerged from an open public appointment process as the next chairman of the BBC," he said.
But the Tories insisted the appointment would pose problems for the BBC. "I am not suggesting that either will show political bias, but the BBC, as the premier news-gathering organisation, is constantly in the centre of controversies," said the shadow culture secretary, Tim Yeo.
"It is easier to diffuse these sorts of rows if you do not have people who are known to be affiliated to political parties."
mkearney@irish-times.com