Sir, – The apology from RTÉ to the late Joe Murray (“RTÉ apologises for treatment of late broadcaster”, June 16th) comes late but is nonetheless welcome.
On the same evening in February 1989 that Farm Diary reported that a meat company was being investigated for abuse of the export credit insurance scheme solicitors for the Goodman Group forcibly warned RTÉ against any repetition of these claims.
Copies of the solicitors’ letter were displayed around the news and current affairs divisions. I was reviewing the morning newspapers for RTÉ Radio 1 the next day and observed first-hand that warning’s chilling effect.
On the one occasion that I was given editorial instruction on the newspapers review, the editor of Morning Ireland told me not to mention the report on Goodman or any reaction to it.
I don’t suppose we can expect an apology from the Goodman group and its legal representatives for intimidating RTÉ from broadcasting what was subsequently shown to be true. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Tom Savage, chairman of the RTÉ board, (Home News, June 16th) in his apology to the family of the late Joe Murray, former head of agriculture programmes, described as “bizarre”RTÉ’s treatment of Mr Murray following the broadcaster’s exposure of the malpractice of the Goodman organisation in 1989. It was more bizarre to delay the apology until 2012. – Yours, etc,