Sir, – Tim Collins’s article (“RTÉ’s financial and legal privileges are a threat to independent local radio”, Opinion, December 14th) refers to a “highly regulated environment” for independent broadcasters. This is as it should be. The suggestion that regulation is less “onerous” for RTÉ is misleading.
Mr Collins states that "all broadcast media . . . must operate within a set of rules that balance the right to broadcast with the rights of ordinary people to their good name." This is true. This is why RTÉ is co-operating fully with the BAI statutory inquiry into the Prime Time Investigatesprogramme "Mission to Prey".
His argument that RTÉ is not “subject to the same level of scrutiny by the regulator” denies the regulatory facts. RTÉ’s performance, specifically its delivery on public service commitments, is reviewed annually by the BAI. These commitments are extensive, and range across commitments to regional coverage, news and current affairs, television and radio drama, children’s programmes, Irish-language services and programming, performing groups, and niche and special-interest factual and music programming, across RTÉ radio and television. There is no remotely similar set of requirements applying to commercial broadcasters in terms either of delivery or of reporting.
RTÉ is also subject to a second regulator in ComReg. It is in addition the only commercial semi-State body subject to Freedom of Information access. The roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (Saorview), the growth of RTÉ.ie, and the expansion of RTÉ’s extensive range of online and mobile products, is consistent with RTÉ’s aspiration to universal access to Ireland’s public service media. It is simply another aspect of our public delivery, at significant cost, with no equivalent in commercial broadcasting.
Ireland’s economy is in recession. Pressure within the commercial sector is inevitable and has many causes, but laying the blame at RTÉ’s door is misguided. Given the population size of this country, a licence fee alone will never be sufficient to fund the level and quality of public service media that Irish people have come to expect, and so RTÉ is mandated to pursue commercial income to be used along with licence fee income to fund our activities. Reductions in public funding to RTÉ in recent years have increased RTÉ’s reliance on commercial income.
Despite this, RTÉ is placing more emphasis than ever on public service delivery while, at the same time, seeking to reach out to commercial colleagues. RTÉ’s recent offer to the newspaper industry to share our online content is a case in point.
Mr Collins’s remarks about RTÉ Digital Radio are also regrettable. RTÉ is and should be a digital leader. At a time when the UK, the EU and the European Broadcasting Union are placing ever more emphasis on digital radio, RTÉ is alone in Ireland in its commitment to developing the platform. RTÉ Radio would warmly welcome our commercial colleagues to the digital project.
Public funds do not fully resource RTÉ’s public service activities. Hobbling RTÉ could bring short-term wins for the commercial sector, but the loss of a strong, accountable public service broadcaster would be regretted by generations to come.
Our successes will speak for themselves. When we are flawed, we will be accountable. – Yours, etc,