While many have criticised alterations announced in RTÉ Radio 1 arts programming, such changes are both inevitable nd essential in a shifting Irish culture and media market, writes Adrian Moynes
I believe that radio makes a difference to Irish people's lives. That is why I chose to make my career in radio nearly 30 years ago and why, today, I feel privileged to head a team that runs RTÉ's four radio stations: Radio 1, 2FM, Lyric FM and Raidío na Gaeltachta.
As the nation's broadcaster, RTÉ faces public scrutiny and comment for every move it makes. RTÉ radio, particularly so. This is only right and I wouldn't want it any other way. The day criticism and controversy cease is the day RTÉ radio is no longer relevant to the lives of the Irish people.
There was outrage, for example, in the mid-1990s when The Arts Show (weekdays 7-8pm) moved to the afternoon. It was claimed then that a mid-afternoon slot would be the death of the arts (cinema, theatre, literature, a wide range of music, dance, and so on) on Radio 1.
A more recent example occurred last year. Radio 1 ended its medium wave coverage of sport (including the GAA championship) on Saturdays and Sundays. Sport continued, as usual, on FM, but the idea was to offer a choice for those listeners seeking an alternative to the sport and music found elsewhere on RTÉ radio at those times. So we introduced Second Helpings, a selection of the best of our arts and features output. In response to this, many media pundits claimed RTÉ was abandoning sports fans.
So, yes, I am constantly aware that any schedule change at RTÉ radio will elicit concern from listeners and interested parties, but I also know that change is both inevitable and essential. Radio must recognise how its reality is changing. The internet, DVDs, video games, TV, cinema - these all compete with radio for the public's time. And within the radio market itself, domestic competition is increasing and international stations are more readily available through the internet and satellite. The Irish public - the audience paying the licence fee - is swiftly diversifying (in its ethnic and religious mix) and its needs are constantly changing.
To remain relevant to as many listeners as possible, RTÉ radio must perform a balancing act between leading and following public tastes.
Of course, the programmes are vitally important, but the people now choose how and when to listen, as well as what they want to hear. We have to keep programmes and schedules under review. And we must use new ways to reach new listeners.
Unlike commercial radio stations, RTÉ radio does not make these assessments based on profit measures. Instead, each of our channels aims, in its own way, to achieve four key goals. These are to:
• Nurture and reflect the cultural and regional diversity of all the people of Ireland;
• Provide distinctive programming and services of the highest quality and ambition (with the emphasis on home production);
• Inform the Irish public;
• Enable national participation in public events.
Achieving these goals, to the satisfaction of all licence-fee-payers will always be a challenge.
My task at RTÉ radio is to work with my team to do this as much as humanly possible.
The recent Radio 1 schedule announcements have caused some to question whether we are serving these goals as they apply to the arts and culture. When considering this, it's worth noting that 50 per cent of RTÉ radio's output is already dedicated to the Irish language (RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta) and to music and the arts (RTÉ Lyric FM), before Radio 1 or 2FM's programmes are drawn up. Additionally, RTÉ television has a commitment to the arts - evidenced for example by Arts Lives, The View and the recent Beckett festival - and RTÉ provides two orchestras, a string quartet and two choirs. The arts are also covered on the RTÉ.ie website and in the RTÉ Guide. RTÉ radio is proud of its ongoing sponsorship campaign, "RTÉ Supporting the Arts", which advertises concerts, exhibitions and events around the country by providing national promotion.
However, even if Radio 1 is considered in isolation, I believe the changes announced to its schedule will deepen the station's arts coverage and broaden the audience for the arts.
For a start, we want to do better by the arts in our mainstream daily programmes. Last year, RTÉ radio trained 20 new programme-makers, many with a background in the arts, and naturally we want their work to reach a large audience.
We'll also have a new programme at 7pm each evening, presented by Dave Fanning. It will be aimed at a wide listenership, including those nine-to-five workers and commuters who aren't free to listen in the afternoon. Dave will spotlight the arts, along with popular music, features and interviews.
Making crafted, popular radio is a very serious task needing a quality approach to production. The aim is to make culture as readily accessible as possible rather than the preserve of a special interest group. We need the audience to know that, at any time of the day, they are invited into this public arena and can contribute to it.
From 8pm to 9pm on week nights, we are keeping the slots for the dramas, documentaries and factual series that are a distinguished and established part of the Radio 1 offering. A new daily music slot between 9pm and 10pm will see us developing a more analytical and crafted approach to telling stories through music.
That said, there is room for a specialised arts show - one that enhances our ability to be edgy, innovative and challenging. It will go to air at 11pm and, like most of the schedule, it will be there on the internet, free-of-charge and available when it suits the individual listener, days or weeks later.
With an 11pm start, it will have a new dynamic, with a new ability to be first with opening-night reviews, delivering the verdict of both experts and audiences on cultural events. We will invite the main players to debate the big artistic questions of the day and reflect the activities of community arts groups throughout the country - giving a platform for the many and varied talents which exist. The creative teams, which will include staff who currently work on our arts output, will be going into development in the coming weeks to get ready for the launch of the new programmes. The changes we are introducing are designed to refresh our output.
It is essential that we retain a contemporary feel in a fast-changing media landscape and, at its heart, the new schedule will retain the essence of a very familiar Radio 1.
I must admit that I, like many people, don't always welcome change. The changes to Radio 1 schedules were difficult ones that had to be made and to avoid taking such decisions would mean stagnation for RTÉ radio and a growing disconnect with our licence-fee-paying audience.
My job is to ensure that RTÉ radio remains relevant to the Irish public, achieving the right balance in terms of news, sport, popular music, the arts, features and chat. I believe that RTÉ radio makes a difference to Irish people's lives. And I want to be sure it continues to do so into the future.
• Adrian Moynes is managing director of RTÉ radio