Is it too much to expect a public service broadcaster to broadcast a 45-minute arts programme at a time when people are actually awake? asks Tania Banotti
In his recent opinion piece, Adrian Moynes, the managing director of RTÉ Radio, says he welcomes public scrutiny and comment. So here goes.
He says that the recent scheduling changes announced will "deepen and broaden the audience for the arts". But Rattlebag - a consistently fine example of in-depth arts coverage and a shining example of public service broadcasting - currently has 175,000 listeners for its mid-afternoon slot. We estimate that moving it to 11pm will mean an audience share in the region of 25,000. They'd need to be very deep to make up for their lack of breadth.
Arts programming on RTÉ television and radio is being pushed steadily to the margins. On television, Arts Lives was a wonderful series, but it was broadcast at 10.15pm. The View is consistently informative, lively and stimulating. It is broadcast at 11.15pm. RTÉ has one dedicated radio arts show in a prime time position, and it is now proposed to move it to 11pm.
There is no other conclusion possible than that the arts are being marginalised on RTÉ.
The arts and "popular culture" are not one and the same thing. The arts and the Irish language are not one and the same thing. The arts and music are not one and the same thing. So for Moynes to talk about Dave Fanning's new show, and about Raidió na Gaeltachta and Lyric FM, as somehow fulfilling this brief, is at best disingenuous.
Is it too much to expect a public service broadcaster to broadcast a 45-minute dedicated arts programme at a time when people are actually awake?
Moynes says that, "unlike commercial radio stations, RTÉ radio does not make these assessments based on profit measures". Maybe it should.
The figures show that, in mid-afternoon, significantly more people are listening to Rattlebag than to any other national radio station. Rattlebag has an audience of 175,000: 2FM has an audience of 157,000 at that time of the afternoon, and the only nationwide commercial competition, Today FM, has an audience of 111,000.
In fact, Rattlebag's audience represents an increase of 1,000 listeners since the last JNLR survey, making it the 14th most popular radio programme on the RTÉ airwaves. Is that really so bad?
Moynes suggest that an 11pm start "will have a new dynamic, with a new ability to be first with opening-night reviews". Anyone who works in, or appreciates, the arts would prefer a considered response to a knee-jerk critique delivered within 30 minutes of the curtain coming down. This is hardly the way to improve critical debate.
We believe passionately that talk of theatre, dance and opera productions; children's books and poetry; literary and popular fiction; summer festivals around the country; music of all kinds and the breadth of the visual arts, is not the preserve of a minority but should reach the widest possible audience. Moynes seems to agree, when he says of the proposed changes that "the aim is to make culture as readily accessible as possible rather than the preserve of a special interest group". Moving Rattlebag to the margins is not the way to do it.
There is an online petition (accessible at http://www.petitiononline.com/rattlebg/) calling on RTÉ to reverse its decision. It has been signed by arts practitioners as well as by listeners who love Rattlebag's emphasis on accessibility of the arts for the ordinary person, as well as its exceptionally strong regional focus.
It is interesting to read the comments from actors such as Jonathan Rhys Meyers, writers such as Dermot Bolger and musicians such as Shaun Davey, as well as hundreds of regular listeners. Many rural audiences, and the Irish living abroad, say it's a lifeline to keep in touch with what's happening in the arts, nationwide and internationally.
How wonderful that in the last 12 months Irish artists have won both an Oscar and the Booker prize, and our theatre community has been nominated for 10 Tony Awards on Broadway. When this happens, RTÉ rushes to cover it on prime time news bulletins. Yet for years it hasn't had a dedicated arts correspondent in the newsroom. All of this is very much at odds with a country that is internationally recognised for the strength of its arts and culture. Our three Nobel winners in literature must surely count for something.
This dumbing-down of arts coverage by our national broadcaster is not merely of concern to those who work in the arts. It is a concern to all Irish citizens who believe that the arts are of intrinsic and vital importance in our daily lives - and who, ultimately, pay our licence fees.
While welcoming RTÉ's stated commitment to the arts, it may be useful to revisit the national broadcaster's guiding principles from 2004: "RTÉ will focus on holding existing and attracting new audiences. RTÉ will work to promote Ireland's cultural heritage."
In dreams begins responsibility - William Butler Yeats
Tania Banotti is chief executive of Theatre Forum