Former RTÉ manager replies to coverage

Sir, – It’s unfair that Justine McCarthy (“Revelations about them-and-us culture at top in RTÉ not new”, Opinion, July 7th) seeks to drag my name into the current controversy surrounding RTÉ.

I was head of TV current affairs for 15 years and in that time attracted only one official complaint from a staff member. I sought to make sure that staff were always treated fairly and with understanding, and that the licence payer got a good deal as well.

That’s not always an easy balance to achieve. I wasn’t a perfect boss but I stand over my record in people management as well as in journalism and TV production. As a manager you have control over your own actions but ultimately you can’t control how those actions are perceived by staff. When there’s a dispute, they often hear one side of the story. Misperceptions and myths abound and grow in the re-telling.

It’s open season now on RTÉ managers but most of us do our best. – Yours, etc,