RTÉ in a sorry state, but our sorry State needs it
APOPULIST gimmick has left Sinn Féin’s plans for public sector broadcasting vulnerable to attack – but beyond the gesture politics, the party is engaging with a critically important matter in a media environment besieged by falsehoods and trivialities.
Proposing an amnesty for those who have not paid their TV licence was an empty gesture, lamely defended by the party on the grounds that RTÉ is wasting money hand over fist anyway.
It also invited easy rebuttals, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar deriding the party’s ‘desperation’ and ‘left populism’.
An amnesty is unwarranted, and betrayed a lack of faith in the central tenet of the party’s proposal.
The argument that public service media should be supported through general taxation can be convincingly made without resort to such sweeteners, though, and Sinn Féin’s engagement with the issue is the first serious reckoning with a vital matter by the main political parties, since the national broadcaster collapsed into scandal last June.
Frenzy
The sorry saga continues, with weekly twists and turns, but an engagement with what happens in the long term has been largely absent from the political frenzy around RTÉ.
In arguing for support through Exchequer funding, Sinn Féin follows the recommendation of the Future of Media Commission, which was issued in July 2022.
That was the report’s main finding, and one that was instantly rejected by the Government.
The convulsions that hurled RTÉ into a state of relentless crisis have radically changed the discussion, though. Catherine Martin, the Media Minister, has signalled her support for direct funding, and the Taoiseach described the licence fee system as ‘an outdated charge’ last month, adding that he envisaged a new system being introduced by next year.
There is no feeling of urgency around the Government’s plans, however; a working group, set up by Minister Martin to examine funding options after the Media Commission’s report, returned with its findings last year, but the crisis in RTÉ has seen this entire discussion narrowed into rows about waste inside the broadcaster, and whether people should pay the licence fee or not.
These are substantial matters in their own right, and any discussion of pumping taxpayers’ money into Montrose has to be accompanied by the promised radical reforms. But just as vital is a national broadcaster the public can trust. Scandals have allowed the more extreme critics of RTÉ to foam at the mouth about cosy cartels and State collusion – exactly the sort of paranoia fuelling suspicion of traditional media in the Western world.
Yet the value of public service broadcasting was made clear in the coverage of the State funeral for John Bruton last Saturday.
This is the type of event that a commercial station could not cover in the way RTÉ did, which was simply superb.
It wasn’t reverential but was respectful, and accompanied by rigorous analysis of the former taoiseach’s public life. The radio discussion chaired by Colm Ó Mongáin was terrific, delving into Bruton’s role in the peace process and scrutinising his attitudes to republican traditions, as well as examining the way his relationship with coalition government changed over a long career.
It was a triumph of balanced, serious current affairs, though it was the sort of programming that would not necessarily have advertisers banging on the door.
Important
But that is precisely why public service broadcasting is so important: there are affairs of State, such as the funerals of former taoisigh and presidents, or solemn commemorations, that must be covered in a way that reflects the values of a modern democracy.
Other public interest subjects, such as big sporting events, major news stories and general elections, are clear priorities, but the less obvious ones matter, too.
The Future of Media Commission defined public service content as such that ‘has a distinct public value, is produced to clearly defined professional and ethical standards, is an important public source of truthful and accurate information and diverse opinions’.
That description should inform designs for a rebooted RTÉ, and also be to the fore when politicians discuss what comes next for a beleaguered institution whose role in Irish life remains profound, even if it has been diminished by obsessing about ‘the talent’.
Beyond the influencers, there is a national asset that’s worth protecting.