A FORMER member of the RTE Authority has claimed that Government interference is forcing RTE to operate at a "sub commercial level". Ms Kay McGuinness, an advertising agency executive, said RTE should "go it alone and get the State off its back."
Interviewed in the magazine Marketing Opinion, published today, she said the time had come to decide whether RTE was a total public service broadcasting service or a commercial operation.
Ms McGuinness, who is the chairwoman of Limerick Chamber of Commerce, was a member of the authority between 1990 and 1995. In an interview she said interference by recent governments was forcing RTE to operate on a sub commercial basis and added it was ironic that when RTE was earning more from its commercial income than from State subvention, this interference in its commercial life continued.
She cited as interference the fact that RTE radio can only sell 4.5, minutes of advertising per hour, compared to nine minutes' for commercial radio, the task of establishing Teilifis na Gaeilge; and the requirement to buy a certain amount of programmes from the independent sector.
She also said the recent decision, by the new authority to ban toy advertising during certain hours of children's programmes was misguided.
She said the Government was in effect a minority shareholder, but was imposing its will on the whole station. RTE was being held to ransom by the State subvention.
"Personally I would love to see RTE getting the State off its back and going it alone. Start by hiving off worthy projects such as the orchestras and Radiona Gaeltachta which cannot be justified commercially. Let them be funded directly from the Exchequer."