I will make RTE a better place
Boss Bakhurst’s pledge to staff at scandal-plagued broadcaster
RTE chief Kevin Bakhurst said he is determined to make the station a better place to work as a protest heard staff are “embarrassed” to work for the national broadcaster.
National Union of Journalists members gathered at its campus in Donnybrook yesterday to urge the Government to act immediately on the funding crisis and the wider public service broadcasting sector.
It came just days after the latest scandal that saw Chair of the RTE Board Siun Ni Raghallaigh stepping down.
Following speeches from staff, director general Mr Bakhurst addressed the crowd and acknowledged the distress caused to workers in recent weeks.
He said: “Can I just thank you all for coming here. I really appreciate the message you’re trying to convey.
“I would say to you all I totally appreciate this has been a horrendous period for all staff.
“I thank you all again for the incredible efforts you’ve made to keep the organisation afloat. It’s been a rough few weeks for lots of people and the organisation. I’m absolutely determined to make this a better organisation for you all to work in.
“A better organisation to deliver for audiences and to rebuild trust and pride in working here.
“That’s my job and I’m going to get on with it.”
Speaking at the protest, RTE’S Education Correspondent Emma O’kelly said the events of the last week have “been like a bad dream”.
She added: “They’re like one of those dreams you have where you’re running and you’re trying to get away from something but no matter how hard you run, you can’t get away.
“We’re tangled up in the weeds and the mud and we need to get clear of all this and get out to clear water.
“We need sustainable funding, and we need adequate funding.
“When we look at what has happened, I can’t help but think that the root of so much of the scandal that has been witnessed over the past few months has been the issue of funding and the fact that RTE has been chasing, desperately chasing, funding and money streams from wherever they can get it.
“That is because we’ve been starved of public funding.
“When you look, for example, the things like the flip flops, the London club, rugby season tickets, that was all because RTE
was desperately chasing advertising. If you look at something like Toy Show The Musical, it was RTE desperately looking for a goose that would lay a golden egg because we were starved of public funding.
“If you look at the big exit packages, the reason why the exit packages are so big is because the salaries were so big.
“Again that was RTE desperately, I think, or part of it, was looking for somebody with the Midas touch who could get us out of this big hole we are in because of the lack of public funding.”
Ms O’kelly called for Government to stop waiting for reports and make a decision now on the future funding for the organisation.
Trevor Keegan, RTE’S NUJ sub-branch chair, said he has worked at the station for 20 years and that he has been “embarrassed” to work for the national broadcaster.
Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers, said people are getting “tired of the endless spotlight on the issues and repetition of many known events going on now for nine months”.
We need sustainable & we need adequate funding
EMMA O’KELLY RTE REPORTER YESTERDAY