Irish Examiner view: Chance missed?

Newbchairn of the RTÉ board Siún Ní Raghallaigh.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s appointment as the new chairwoman of the RTÉ board is a tribute to her track record, both as chief executive of Ardmore studios and Troy Studios, as well her time as MD of Tyrone Productions and chairwoman of TG4.

Her past experience with the Irish-language broadcaster should be particularly helpful in the new job; even though RTÉ is on a different scale to TG4, heading up a national broadcaster means Ms Ní Raghallaigh should be able to hit the ground running.

In appointing someone from that traditional broadcasting background, is there a sense of an opportunity missed?

Would the State broadcaster have benefited more from appointing somebody more conversant with the challenges and opportunities associated with other, non-traditional platforms in the current media landscape? The current situation with Twitter, with its chaotic leadership and vanishing advertisers, is a snapshot of just how volatile that landscape can be.

Ms Ní Raghallaigh has a full in-tray as it stands, with the TV licence probably the most pressing issue.

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he would be in favour of a universally applied levy to resource the media instead of the traditional TV licence, though he also indicated uncertainty as to when the interdepartmental group looking into this matter will report back to Government.

It would be no surprise to see the new RTÉ chairwoman press for clarity on that matter sooner rather than later.