RTÉ names Deirdre McCarthy as managing director of news and current affairs

RTÉ has announced the appointment of Deirdre McCarthy as managing director of news and current affairs following a public recruitment process.

Ms McCarthy, who is the first woman to hold the position, had been acting as interim boss of RTÉ News & Current Affairs following the departure of Jon Williams in July. She will join the executive board of RTÉ and report to director general Dee Forbes.

From Cork City, she previously served as managing editor of regions and radio news programmes as well as politics and business coverage, where she shaped and expanded the organisation’s output and worked to enhance its digital news content.

In her career at RTÉ Ms McCarthy has steered the growth of flagship Radio 1 news programmes Morning Ireland, News at One and This Week, while she also previously served as political coverage editor at Leinster House, leading RTÉ’s reporting of politics as well as overseeing the live broadcasting of general elections, referendums and commemoration events.

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Announcing her appointment, RTÉ said it was operating in a highly competitive global media market in which technology is rapidly transforming the way audiences demand and consume content. The way in which it delivers on its public service mandate must respond to these changes and Ms McCarthy will play “a leading role” in this, it said.

“It is a great privilege to lead this exceptional team of journalists and editors,” Ms McCarthy said, while Ms Forbes congratulated her on her appointment.

“As someone who has held a number of important positions across RTÉ News & Current Affairs for more than two decades, Deirdre is well placed to continue the development of our news and current affairs output across our services,” the RTÉ director general said.