Sir, - Your editorial "On the wireless" of January 29th is inaccurate on a number of points.
Firstly, your assertion that: "for much of the day, one can dial right through the waveband and find that choice is simply between RTE's Radio 1 and pop music", is simply not true. This ignores the broad diversity of programming available throughout the country on independent local radio. Radio Kilkenny, for example, offers listeners a daily mixture of local news and current affairs, debate, discussion, local information, local sports results and features, as well of course as a wide variety of music.
Secondly, you state that in RTE, "staff freely admit that the spur of competition is badly missed". Independent local radio has been competing with RTE since 1989 and the research indicates that stations such as Radio Kilkenny have been winning. In Kilkenny, for example, the most recent JNLR/MRBI report for 1995/96 shows Radio Kilkenny to have a 45 per cent market share as opposed to RTE Radio's 18 per cent.
Much of the national debate on the rapidly changing media scene in Ireland continues to come from a purely Dublin perspective. Please do not ignore the success of media such as Radio Kilkenny. - Yours, etc.,
Manager, Radio Kilkenny,
Hebron Road,
Kilkenny.