Claire makes radio waves with ‘News at One’ move
WOMEN are dominating the shake-up of RTÉ Radio One’s prime-time schedule.
Claire Byrne will join Áine Lawlor in presenting its flagship ‘News At One’ programme with the two broadcasters hosting the show in rotation.
RTÉ announced a number of changes to its schedule yesterday, which will come into effect next month.
‘The Late Debate’, which airs from 10pm to 11pm three nights a week, will have new presenters: former Newstalk host Sarah McInerney on Tuesdays, ‘Prime Time’ stalwart Katie Hannon on Wednesdays, and former CNN presenter Fionnuala Sweeney on Thursdays.
Cormac Ó hEadhra will move from presenting ‘The Late Debate’ to the 1pm-2pm slot on Saturdays vacated by Claire Byrne.
He will now present ‘Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra’.
The latest changes come after RTÉ unveiled its new look ‘Six One News’ team of Keelin Shanley and former US correspondent Caitriona Perry earlier this month.
The co-anchors replaced long-running hosts Sharon Ní Bheoláin and Bryan Dobson.
Homecoming
The new presenting role on Thursday nights will be something of a homecoming for Fionnuala Sweeney, who left RTÉ in 1993 to become an anchor and correspondent for CNN International based in Atlanta, reporting on major news events from Europe and the Middle East.
However, she is also well known for presenting the ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ in 1993, and said that she still gets recognised by fans in some airports around the world.
“People obviously do remember the Eurovision,” she said.
She told the Irish
Independent that international news will be a key focus of her new show.
Commenting on the changes, head of RTÉ Radio One Tom McGuire said: “The new presenting team of Áine and Claire on RTÉ Radio One’s ‘News at One’ is exceptionally strong by any measure.”
He said the move by Ó hEadhra into the weekend slot was a testament to his proven skills both on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and standing in on shows such as ‘Today with Sean O’Rourke’.
He also paid tribute to the experience brought by the three new presenters to ‘The Late Debate’.
Meanwhile, RTÉ confirmed yesterday that former ‘News At One’ presenter Richard Crowley left the broadcaster at the end of 2017.