Sir, – As a former head of young people’s programmes, I am dismayed by the short-sighted decision to cease production of children’s programmes in RTÉ, and to disperse the editorial talent behind its success. Given the important role television plays in forming the attitudes of the young, RTÉ should be improving its programmes for them, and not doing away with its in-house leadership and talent.
Let us remember that there are more than one million children under 14 in the country, more than a fifth of the population. Over the years RTÉ has built up a strong rapport with the young audience, and nurtured and developed young talent on shoestring budgets.
RTÉjr, an ad-free channel, is the latest manifestation of real public service. It is built on years of editorial experience and a deft mixture of in-house and commissioned programmes. Yet this service has been provided by 34 people, less than 2 per cent of RTÉ’s staff!
While it is a time of financial crisis, targeting the young is a soft option that puts at risk the channel loyalty of the young and their parents.
The RTÉ board needs to review this decision, and put it on hold until it submits its plans to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland next year.
Our children deserve no less. – Yours, etc,
Dr CON BUSHE,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – RTÉ belongs to a bygone era in which a public broadcasting monopoly ruled the airwaves.
The future of television is already here. In the US, more than 20 per cent of viewers are now “cord-cutters”, ie they watch media via the internet.
Irish online broadcast companies can transmit to the world yet are not supported by the licence fee.
To create a vibrant media sector in Ireland, the licence fee should be shared by many Irish media companies and start-ups.
In the US, there is the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which is funded by voluntary donations by the listeners, viewers and corporations, not by an extortive law demanding money through a licence fee. – Yours, etc,
DAMIAN O’REGAN,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.