Sir, - Kevin Myers in his entertaining assessment of the Irish TV situation (An Irishman's Diary, October 8th) refers to TV3 as "totally free of any subvention from the taxpayer". This is a common illusion fostered by commercial television - ie, that it is philanthropic. How does even he fall for it?
In fact commercial broadcasting is exclusively funded by the extra we pay for consumer items as a result of the obscene cost of making and showing TV commercials, plus the costs of health and environmental damage by the concomitant over-consumption, plus many direct down-the-line costs to the planet itself.
This would be a target worthier of Mr Myers's deadly satire than poor little TnaG. - Yours, etc., Bob Quinn,
Beal an Daingin,
READ MORE
Conamara.