Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s What Happened
After a bit of controversy which we discussed last week, Kevin Bakhurst has been appointed the next director General of RTÉ. After we published last weeks news stories, An Post boss David McRedmond ruled himself out of the running for the role.
There has been a lot written about Bakhurst since the announcement. He has previous experience in public service broadcasting having worked at high levels within both RTÉ and the BBC, and in more recent years he’s been working for the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom.
“I’m delighted to welcome today’s announcement of the appointment of Kevin Bakhurst as the new Director General of RTÉ. The appointment follows a competitive recruitment process, with Kevin as the unanimous choice of the RTÉ Board. Kevin brings an exceptional breadth of industry experience, great leadership skills and a passionate commitment to the development of public service broadcasting in all its forms. Kevin’s appointment comes at time of opportunity and change for RTÉ. With my fellow Board members, I look forward to working with Kevin in our shared commitment to a thriving and financially sustainable RTÉ.”
Chairperson of RTÉ, Siún Ní Raghallaigh
It’s going to be interesting to see if RTE’s strategy will change significantly when Kevin starts his new role. Dee Forbes will finish in the job on the 11th of July.
Siún Ní Raghallaigh also spoke to the committee on tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, and Media this week on a range of topics related to RTÉ. As part of this she spoke about the RTÉ board leaks.
Overall a very busy week for RTÉ. What happened this week will have a huge impact on the broadcasters future, so hopefully it all goes well.
Very best of luck to Kevin Bakhurst from us at Radio Land. You can read more about his appointment below.
In some sad news, BBC Radio Foyle has had its last breakfast show. The show isn’t ending because of falling numbers, or it’s not being replaced by a fancy new breakfast show. Unfortunately the decision has been taken in order to cut costs at BBC NI.
BBC Northern Ireland announced last November that it would be cutting around 40 jobs, with this being done to save money and allowing the organisation to invest more in digital.
Ultimately this is really sad as there will now be less content for those in Northern Ireland, and of course there are people losing their jobs. It’s a real shame that nothing could be done to save the breakfast show but ultimately these things happen.
It does raise an interesting question. Should the BBC air ads if it resulted in content like this being saved? The BBC is under financial pressure and introducing limited ads could help relieve that, but would it hurt the image of the organisation? Let us know what you think by voting on our Instagram story.
Elaine McGee and David Hunter both spoke of the importance of local radio during their last show, and you can read what they said at the link below.
No matter how you dice it, this is a sad story and one we’d really rather not see.
RTE are looking for a sponsor for their new weekend show with Roz and Emma. The ladies took over from Dave Fanning back in February, and this is the first time the show has been available for sponsorship.
So, how much does it cost? The money is always the most interesting part of the sponsorship, so let’s see how much you’d need to partner with the show.
- If you want the show partnership for 6 months, that will set you back €50,000
- And if you want the whole year, that will be a cool €95,000
The sponsorship includes a number of promos as well as the ad break stings, so it would provide a good boost for a brand that fits the shows audience.
Best of luck to RTÉ selling the sponsorship. I look forward to seeing what brand partners up with the show.
Quick Bits
Carl Mullan and his wife Aisling are expecting their second child🎉
RTE broadcaster Sean O Tuairisg has passed away
Sound and vision round 49 is open
The Media Literacy Ireland Award winners have been announced
A writer at the Irish Times wasn’t a massive fan of The 2 Johnnies
Today FM’s Dave Moore has spoke about DIY
The Irish Pirate Radio Archive is heading to America
A trial date has been set for an Irish celebrity accused of defiling a child
And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.
Transparency
The image on story three wasn’t displaying for people after publishing. This was very frustrating for your humble writer, but this issue has been fixed. An additional story was also added to Quick Bits, lucky you.