Letters to the Editor: RTÉ is bigger than any one presenter
One reader describes the response of Ryan Tubridy (right) and his agent Noel Kelly to the Grant Thornton report as 'shallow' and 'sickly'. File picture: Niall Carson/PA
It’s easy to think that another person’s job is easy when you don’t have to do it yourself.
This is particularly the case for soft-hand work, such as presenting a radio show.
So many who work hard for wages that just about serve to make ends meet would find it hard to accept that Ryan Tubridy would return to RTÉ for a mere salary of less than €200,000.
“Sure his radio show is only for one hour, five days a week; great work if you can get it,” is what some think.
However, those of us who have worked in the industry know what’s involved in putting together a show. Much preparation and production is needed to make a show good, be it live or recorded.
Having said that, Ryan Tubridy is just the (fallen) star at the top of the tree. What’s more, unlike many of his unheralded colleagues — without whom he couldn’t be a success — he didn’t, as far as I’m aware, go through the local radio backwater to get to where he is.
Moreover, having both presented shows (without a production team) and scripted/presented news bulletins, I regard the latter as far more demanding and stressful. Yet, in broadcasting, the salaries for newsreaders and news writers — often one and the same — are usually a fraction of those paid to presenters.
One argument regularly heard in favour of paying big bucks to star presenters is that it prevents them from being poached by rival media.
So what if this happens? RTÉ should be bigger than any one presenter. There’s plenty of such talent in Ireland who can only dream of getting a salary of six figures.
The national broadcaster should be more concerned about producing quality, balanced content and adequately remunerating the worker ants who ensure the whole show goes on.
Other media can have Tubridy, but they can’t have RTÉ.
RTÉ now stands for Ryan Tubridy Expelled.
The shallow responses of the Tubridy-Kelly duo to the Grant Thornton report were as sickly as they were disingenuous.
Their executive involvement in misrepresenting salary matters to the nation was never really at stake, yet they’re claiming some brownie-point kudos, to ‘barter’ the public into forgetting the Renault-ruse which they knew all about — the whys, the wherefores and the ‘what-fors’.
Their pantomimic performance of obfuscations, camouflages and delays, both prior and during the committee hearings, was nothing less than an insult to the nation’s intelligence.
Sad days for democratic scrutiny templates of the state, when they can be used and abused thus. Mr Tubridy’s contrivedly sham shaking of the TDs’ hands after the hearings was the ultimate affront to decent decorum and authentic respect. Let not Grant Thornton confer immunity from this key assessment.
Now arrogance and greed has got their comeuppance and the the perennial employment adage holds firm and true — no one is indispensable, absolutely no one.
May I congratulate Kevin Bakhurst on removing one prima donna, and humbly remind him that there are a few more to go.
We will then have the RTÉ that this nation, deserves, and can afford.
The blueprint is already there in RTÉ Lyric FM and RTÉ Raidio na Gaeltachta, both stations that present superb programmes within tight budgets.
After much soul-searching we have finally found out Tubs’ true market value. Who’s next in line for a dose of the truth?
Earlier this week I took the 8am train from Dublin Heuston to Limerick Corbett where I passed a very pleasant and rewarding day visiting St John’s Church, St Mary’s Cathedral, and eating a reasonably priced restaurant nearby.
I took the track from Limerick to Dublin that evening and on the journey back home I asked the woman providing the refreshments to customers that I would like to order a coffee. The young woman working the refreshment trolley informed me that they only took cards and when I asked why, she explained to me that this was company policy.
When I asked how long Irish Rail had this policy I was informed that the service has been outsourced to a private catering company.
The young woman who worked on the train was very courteous and helpful so I felt it was unfair and unreasonable to press her any further on this matter.
However I would like to bring this issue to public attention bearing in mind that I paid over €50 for the return trip which I have no problem with except for the fact that I was inconvenienced in not being facilitated in having the option of buying a refreshment while other passengers were entitled to this facility.
Why does Irish Rail not provide an option of a cash payment and not presume that all of their customers use third-party payment facilities for making a payment? Cash is, after all, still legal.
How can we be proud of Cork? When are they going to start planting trees and greening our city?
Oliver Plunkett St is bristling with steel bollards, countless poles (some without signs) and big ugly stone slabs. This could be a lovely leafy oasis.
Currently it’s an eyesore and a dismal failure of planning strewn and cluttered with useless street furniture.
St Patrick’s Street has a derelict phone box and abandoned steel booth. City councillors and planners, unchain yourselves from your desks and go walkabout with eyes wide open.
Regarding ‘Irish medics demand climate crisis be declared a public health emergency’ [Irish Examiner, August 15]: While financiers, and politicians in Ireland and the rest of the world continue to prioritise consumption and economic growth over health and sustainability, these medical professionals are wasting their time, banging their heads against a wall.
While capitalism rules, life on the planet will be sacrificed for profit.
Let’s just party. Spend, spend, spend! And hope the end of the world is swift and painless.
Yours, cynically battling despair.
