RTÉ is looking for a new boss because in July, its current director general, Dee Forbes, is leaving. But the selection process has not gone smoothly – with a leak from the deliberations that suggests the board is divided.
An Post boss David McRedmond, who had been considered a favourite, is now no longer under consideration – much to the disgruntlement of some elements of the board who – as the leak goes – favour him over another prime contender, former RTÉ newsman Kevin Bakhurst who is now favourite to bag the €300,000 prestige role.
It’s a baptism of fire for the board’s new chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh. But as headline grabbing as all this is, it’s far from the State-funded broadcaster’s biggest problem as it grapples with falling advertising revenue, rows over funding, an ageing TV viewership and the ever-growing threat from streaming services.
And then there’s the dismay that a leak over the appointment process should even happen.
American killed in Ballyfin Demesne had just arrived in Ireland to try to help his son
Miriam Lord: Conor McGregor stuns High Court onlookers with evidence about night of alleged sexual assault
Mike Tyson’s glowering silence cuts through Netflix show noise
Alleged assault on child at Dublin creche under Garda investigation
Irish Times media columnist Laura Slattery analyses recent events and the challenges facing the new DG. Presenter: Bernice Harrison. Producer: Declan Conlon.
