RTÉ changes are a major blow to the arts

THE changes to the RTÉ Radio 1 schedule make for sad reading.

The mainstream media have undoubtedly embraced the ‘race to the bottom’ with dumbing down evident in the content of press, TV and radio where the cult of celebrity is so firmly entrenched as to make the most trivial of matters subject to widespread coverage.

RTÉ’s decision to do away with programmes such as Rattlebag and Mystery Train, which were a welcome departure from the blandness served up elsewhere, is a major blow to the arts.