RTE dives in to pull clip as viewer complains about reporter’s plunge
A TV reporter’s diving clip was removed following a complaint from a beady-eyed viewer, reports Niamh Horan
EVERYWHERE we turn, it seems people are prohibited from doing anything that brings a bit of joy into their lives.
So when RTE reporter Paul O’Flynn heard the Government was easing restrictions on public swimming — a hobby close to his heart — he decided to inject some light-hearted humour into his report to put a smile on the face of locked-down viewers.
The broadcast journalist, a champion swimmer and water polo enthusiast in his spare time, made a real-life splash as he signed off a news package when reporting from the Forty Foot in Dublin on the easing of outdoor swimming restrictions.
O’Flynn, who has been swimming since the age of four and who won Dublin’s famous Liffey Swim in
2018, interviewed delighted bathers before he dived smiling off the rocks and into the glistening blue water below.
But despite receiving scores of messages from entertained viewers on social media, the clip was quickly pulled when a beady-eyed viewer rang the station to say it was in breach of “health and safety”.
A source told the Sunday Independent: “The RTE head of compliance checked with Dun LaoghaireRathdown County Council and decided it was promoting a prohibited act.”
This weekend RTE confirmed that one complaint was received about the footage, which aired at 1pm last Wednesday afternoon, before the decision was taken to remove the end shot from further broadcasts.
A spokesperson from
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council did not return calls but there is a ‘‘no diving’’ sign at the spot.
Still, viewers who enjoy O’Flynn’s quirky broadcasts can look forward to some more of the same — but within the limits of what is officially permitted.
The reporter told the Sunday Independent that he will always try to go the extra mile when he can:
“It depends on the context, if it’s a straight story we treat it like that but if it is a colourful report and the story lends itself to something more creative then we always try to tell the story in a different way if possible. And I think RTE encourages us to do that — to think about not just the story we are telling, but the way we tell it.
“I am always very interested in that. I lecture younger students on video journalism in DCU and I say it’s not just about the story, it’s about the craft. The story is important but if you can’t tell it, people won’t take an interest.”
Viewers have previously seen O’Flynn slurp noodles at the World Cup in Japan and more recently wearing shorts and a suit jacket while reporting on the joy of working from home.
In recent years, health and safety concerns have tempered many other everyday activities.
In 2013, three county council workers were suspended in Cork after filling a pothole in what was viewed to be an unsafe manner. The workers had
‘O’Flynn interviewed bathers before he dived off a rock into the water below’
come across a pothole in the Carrigaline area and, having the materials with them to fill it, began work.
According to health and safety regulations at the time, the workers were told it takes a team of four to fill a pothole — a driver, two workers to operate the ‘stop and go signs’, and a fourth worker to put in the material.