A British satellite news service featuring a naked presenter is causing a stir, writes Róisin Ingle
Bryan Dobson and Anne Doyle can rest easy - and so can the rest of us for that matter - as RTÉ has confirmed it has absolutely no plans to introduce a naked news service such as the one launched this week by British satellite channel Get Lucky TV.
From August 16th, news hounds can look forward to watching the latest developments from around the world in the company of presenter Samantha Page who will go from newsreader to nude reader in a matter of minutes.
The programme is set to go head to head with News At Ten on ITV which is presented by Sir Trevor McDonald, a man who, like most newsreaders, prefers to keep his clothes on when discussing the complexities of the Middle East. A spokesperson for Get Lucky TV said this week that despite the naked element, the news itself would not be dumbed down.
"To reassure cynics, content is subject to rigorous editorial control," the spokesperson said. Although with segments such as Sports Buffs (har har) and Naked At the Movies it may prove difficult for viewers to keep a straight face.
Billed as "news with nothing to hide", this pared-down style of bulletin which began on the Internet has so far proved successful on television in the US, Italy, Russia and Australia. As the non-journalist presenters - Page has a degree in zoology and a black belt in karate - put the flash into news flash, viewers are encouraged to join in the "fun" and watch while naked.
In the few short years naked news has been with us, the controversial phenomenon has had the distinction of being slammed by both the Catholic Church and the Mafia. When Video Golfo, a private television channel in Sicily, introduced this unique style of news presentation a couple of years ago Mafia boss Tomas Buscetta was reported as saying "the woman is sacred".
"Her place is at home ironing her husband's clothes and certainly not in a TV studio removing her own," he added. A local parish priest declared naked news "an evil act of delinquency," at the time saying it was "a terrible, awful torment, a degradation and in any case it is probably illegal".
Ofcom, the communications watchdog in Britain, says it will be watching closely to ensure Naked News doesn't breach regulations protecting public taste and decency but it seems unlikely to ruffle feathers given that programmes such as Topless Darts have had a trouble-free run on the more risqué British cable channels.
At home the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland is currently developing a code on taste and decency and a spokeswoman said that, were they ever to be introduced here, programmes such as Naked News would be scrutinised to see if they were breaching any codes.
Naked news programmes have been credited with boosting audiences in the 18-34 age group. However, it is not known whether fledgling outfits such as Sky News Ireland would consider asking their presenters to reveal all in a bid to increase figures.
Meanwhile, popular RTÉ newsreader Eileen Dunne sounded unenthusiastic when asked whether she might at some point in the future see fit to shed her clothes while divulging the latest news from the tribunals.
"I wouldn't want to scare the viewers," she said.