Doireann’s 2fm boss leaps to her defence
RTÉ 2fm boss Dan Healy leapt to the defence of star Doireann Garrihy after she was criticised by colleagues in a heated townhall meeting this week.
RTÉ staff gathered in the Late Late studio on Wednesday for a meeting with the director general Kevin Bakhurst, as he addressed ongoing controversies at the national broadcaster.
It is understood there was discontent about social media stars using their RTÉ jobs to make money outside Donnybrook.
The Irish Daily Mail understands that one staff member in RTÉ spoke up at the meeting, attended by hundreds of employees across the organisation, to challenge the director general on rules for social media stars at the station.
The staff member quizzed Mr Bakhurst on how he could justify employing contractors who have outside podcast brands that are in competition with RTÉ programmes for audiences.
They asked how he could allow an RTÉ contractor with an outside podcast to have a highly publicised interview with former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy, who was let go from the national broadcaster amid the scandal around his pay, while other RTÉ programmes were also looking to interview the presenter.
Ms Garrihy, 31, the 2fm breakfast presenter, has two podcasts outside of RTÉ and landed an interview with Tubridy about his move to London before Christmas on one of her independent shows, The Laughs Of Your Life.
In the 45-minute interview, Tubridy did not mention RTÉ and only referred to the recent controversies with the national broadcaster as ‘the thing’.
He added that testifying before two Oireacthas committees was like ‘Christmas morning flipped’.
However, he said the controversy was ‘arguably the best thing that ever happened to me ’, lauding his new gig in London presenting on Virgin Radio UK.
Ms Garrihy has more than 323,000 followers on Instagram, and had a sizeable following on the platform prior to joining RTÉ.
RTÉ also hired The 2 Johnnies for the drive-time radio slot on 2fm. The comedy duo already had a successful podcast before joining RTÉ.
It is understood that Mr Healy, the head of 2fm, intervened in the questioning to say that Ms Garrihy and The 2 Johnnies only earn a small portion of their salary from their work in RTÉ and the rest is made through their ventures outside the station.
Mr Healy is understood to have defended his top stars by saying they often receive a backlash online, and he pointed out that it is more severe for women.
He also said Ms Garrihy received a ‘huge backlash’ for her interview with Tubridy which he said was ‘misogynistic’ in tone.
The head of 2fm said the abuse online is more severe for Ms Garrihy and fellow 2fm presenter Lottie Ryan in comparison to The 2 Johnnies.
Mr Healy is also reported to have said that he feels newspapers and media outlets use Ms Garrihy and Ms Ryan as ‘clickbait’.
Ms Garrihy and Ms Ryan were thrown into the spotlight last summer after it emerged they used RTÉ studios and the campus to take pictures and film videos for social media promotions.
In a recent email to staff announcing the upcoming register of interests and external activities, which will be mandatory for staff, Mr Bakhurst highlighted that RTÉ locations could not be used in promotions.
‘Everyone should also note that it is a fundamental rule that under no circumstances should RTÉ locations, studios, equipment, brands (including programmes), social media links be used to promote outside commercial interests, ventures or activities, and this applies to staff, contractors and invited studio guests, panellists, etc,’ the director general said in the email to staff.
At the townhall meeting. it’s understood Mr Bakhurst said RTÉ has taken on people who have ‘big names’ outside of the State broadcaster and that they are hired because they already have a recognised name and following.
He is understood to have said that RTÉ has sought to hire these ‘big names’ because they are able to reach audiences that the national broadcaster has struggled to engage.
Mr Bakhurst told staff a lot of those people have large, successful companies before they join the station and that is why they are attractive to hire for RTÉ.
However, the staff member who originally brought up the issue said that they believe that some of those stars are a creation of RTÉ, made their name there, and are now able to make money on the back of the national broadcaster outside Montrose.
It’s understood there was support and applause for the staff member for their statement from others in attendance.
323k Ms Garrihy’s number of Instagram followers