Siún’s statement showed her cunning – but too late
IT’S fair to say that when Siún Ní Raghallaigh was appointed chairwoman of RTÉ, no one had any idea that the job would evolve into such a front-facing role. Sure, the broadcast behemoth was teetering as usual on the edge of the precipice, juggling money troubles with the existential problem of relevance, but it was widely agreed that the Irish-speaking media insider with an accountancy background would be the new broom the station desperately needed.
It was also assumed that, like previous incumbents including Moya Doherty, she’d be able to fly under the radar publicity-wise, save for regular trips with the begging bowl to Leinster House.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s CV is impressive; her career path from financial controller at the defunct Sunday Tribune newspaper to key player in the film industry at Ardmore and Troy studios amplifies her versatility and leadership skills.
As chair of TG4, she had navigated that tricky intersection between public service broadcasting and commercial activities, something that made her unlikely to frighten the natives at Montrose.
Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s response to her de facto sacking on Prime Time by Minister Catherine Martin showed her cunning side. Her departing salvo on how she had told Ms Martin’s department earlier about Richard Collins’s exit package going before the remuneration committee dialled up the pressure on the Media Minister so that the rolling scandals at RTÉ have become a serious political issue.
Her excess of caution about disclosing information, and seemingly operating on a needto-know basis, led to her fall from grace. Before the first Ryan Tubridy payments report was released, Ms Ní Raghallaigh demanded Dee Forbes’s resignation but never informed the minister of it. Not the best approach in an organisation like RTÉ which is funded by the taxpayer with a duty of transparency to the public, an organisation that has promised to rid the place of information silos and hierarchies that, in the words of Ms Ní Raghallaigh herself, ‘shun transparency and foster bureaucracy’.
She displayed her business acumen when she became the first RTÉ person to admit what the public knew, which was that the station was ‘bidding against itself’ on the top earners’ fees.
Yet for all that, she is not a particularly engaging media performer and often comes across as a bit of a drone, someone who has been caught up in a mess that she would get around to sorting, if only she could shake off her monumental apathy.
Her lethargic public persona bears no resemblance to her character, but in the age of digital media and 24-hour news, first impressions are everything. It’s telling of the complacency of the selection panel for her job that it didn’t see her lack of skill as a communicator as a big deal.
Those who decide Ms Ní Raghallaigh’s successor should know that the right person will be the one who wants no part of the RTÉ cult and will smash it up, if needs be.