A chara, - Samuel Walsh of Aosdana (January 13th) says that coverage of public art and sculpture "usually consists of a derogatory mention on Nationwide". He goes on to refer to the annual Limerick Exhibition of Visual Art, claiming "it is made for a fly-on-the-wall documentary, yet RTE passes it on to the ubiquitous Nationwide which searches for the local sneer."
Nationwide has been on the air for seven years and in that time the programme has sought to reflect the diversity of life in Ireland by reporting on the issues of the day, be they whimsical or serious, right round the country. Coverage of the arts is, of course, part of the programme's remit. In the past week we have broadcast a feature on the Dublin sculptor Kenneth Drew, as well as a story on a group of travellers in Letterkenny who have been learning how to construct large, outdoor objets d'art for public spaces. Neither of these features contained any comment or opinion which could even remotely be called "derogatory" to the artists involved, nor indeed have such sentiments been associated with any of the scores of stories on the arts broadcast on the programme over the years.
Nationwide has not covered the Limerick Exhibition of Visual Art over the past few years, although we may well include it in our plans next time around. If we do, in keeping with the tone of the programme, the report will try to convey the energy and creativity of the artists involved and the production team won't waste any of their time searching "for the local sneer".
It is difficult to fathom why Samuel Walsh has sought to use the good offices of The Irish Times to disseminate outright falsehoods about a popular, home-produced television programme which regularly attracts audiences of more than half-a-million viewers. Furthermore, it is disappointing to see a respected body such as Aosdana associated with Mr Walsh's mean-spirited and wholly inaccurate comments. - Is mise,
Tom Kelly, Producer, Nationwide, RTE, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.