New Six One anchor: ‘I was embarrassed going to school gates’
RTÉ’S new Six One anchor Sharon Tobin has revealed how the crisis engulfing the national broadcaster delayed her appointment – and when it came to job negotiations, she was told: ‘This is what’s on the table – take it or leave it’.
It probably wasn’t the best period to start a high-profile job but Ms Tobin – now Six One news anchor, alongside David McCullough – is refreshingly honest about being in the eye of the storm as the furore over the hidden payments to former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy erupted over the summer.
In her first newspaper interview since getting the job, Ms Tobin says she and her colleagues are watching the story unfold with as much interest as everybody else.
And she denies she’s on a ‘whopper salary’.
She said: ‘I think when this whole thing with RTÉ started, a lot of us, particularly colleagues in the newsroom, were kind of saying: “Oh God, I’m so embarrassed going down to the school gates” because there are so many unanswered questions and people are looking at you thinking: “Are you one of the people earning hundreds of thousands?”
‘And you go: “No, I’m absolutely not. I work in the newsroom, we’re on grades – it’s very different.” We’re happy to see the questions answered. Sometimes it can feel like we’re working in two different organisations. We are captivated watching everything that goes on. It slightly depresses us because we realise the repercussions for us as RTÉ staff.’
The journalist, who joined RTÉ in 2008 ‘just after the crash’, is well accustomed to the spectre of pay cuts.
‘When I started we were asked to take pay cuts, and then there have been so many ups and downs since then.
‘We’re all feeling it. This whole crisis delayed me being appointed to the Six One and when it came to negotiations, there were no negotiations. It was like: “This is what’s on the table – take it or leave it.”
‘There are changes afoot in RTÉ. It’s difficult when you’re talking to the public.’
‘People are generally decent – they understand. I think they get how hard we work and that everybody isn’t on those whopper salaries and that [newsroom staff] are actually on a fraction of those salaries.
‘We all have good jobs and we’re in an organisation that is somewhat secure and none of us take that for granted.’
Ms Tobin insists the negativity about RTÉ, which appears to be manifesting in the huge numbers of people refusing to pay their TV licence, is not being felt by herself or her colleagues.
‘I’ve had so much good will since I’ve been appointed to the Six One – I’ve actually been surprised,’ she said.
‘I was thinking this is a terrible time to be appointed to this job with all that’s going on but, actually, people have genuinely been nice.
‘The people who haven’t been nice were on social media and they’re a tiny number.
‘People just want to see that you’re taking it seriously... and that you’re going to put your everything into it and that’s all I can and will continue to do.’
Ms Tobin has been a familiar face as a stand-in news presenter on RTÉ for the past 10 years. She joined RTÉ 15 years ago after presenting the evening news show on TV3 with Alan Cantwell, having started her broadcasting career at local radio station East Coast FM, in Wicklow.
She cites the late journalist Keelin Shanley as a big influence on her.
‘When something’s being thrown at me, I say to myself: “What would Keelin do now? What questions would she ask?”
‘She was just so capable and she never looked phased and always seemed so human
‘I’ve never met a more curious person than Keelin.
She was so encouraging.
‘She’d say to me: “I’m not going to be here forever – you need to put yourself forward and go up to that office”. She was always right behind me.’
Ms Tobin cites two other Irish broadcasting greats as big influences since she completed her Higher National Diploma in Radio Production and Journalism at Ballyfermot College of Further Education.
‘Anne Doyle was just an icon. She was tough and you never knew what she herself thought on an issue, and that’s a really good sign,’ she said.
The late Marian Finucane was another big influence. Of her own interview style, she says: ‘People sometimes think it’s our job to try and make politicians look bad. It’s not the case but they are accountable and must be held to account and answer the difficult questions.
‘I like a respectful type of interview where you... ask the questions and don’t lose the rag with people. Maybe the Paxman style works better for men than for women – it certainly isn’t my style.’
She added: ‘Viewers can get very cross when you interrupt, particularly when a woman interrupts a man.
‘It won’t stop me though.’