Sir, – As an avid radio listener an a defender of public service broadcasting, I think the time is rapidly approaching that we may need to consider putting the RTÉ Radio 1 schedule out of its pitiful misery, belonging as it does to an utterly outdated format. Can you imagine a television station that showed the same programme every working day of the week, at the same time each day, spread across the entire evening’s schedule? Then imagine that it goes on like that for 40 years and you will begin to understand the absurdity of the boundless conventionalism that is RTÉ radio.
No radio documentary during the day. No audio books to be read. No dedicated daytime arts programme. No daytime science programme. No daytime book reviews programming, no psychology programme. No dedicated daily history or sociology programme.
In an age of ready-made podcasting, is there really nothing happening in the world that can be said to be worth listening to outside of Tubridy, Byrne, the DJ bloke who turns up to do your parents’ 40th wedding anniversary (every day), Duffy, D’Arcy, and don’t get me started on what now passes for an evening news programme, day in, day out for yet another 40 years?
PHILIP CONNOLLY,
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New Ross,
Co Wexford.