RTÉ is looking for a new boss because in July, its current director general, Dee Forbes, is leaving. But the selection process has not gone smoothly – with a leak from the deliberations that suggests the board is divided.
An Post boss David McRedmond, who had been considered a favourite, is now no longer under consideration – much to the disgruntlement of some elements of the board who – as the leak goes – favour him over another prime contender, former RTÉ newsman Kevin Bakhurst who is now favourite to bag the €300,000 prestige role.
It’s a baptism of fire for the board’s new chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh. But as headline grabbing as all this is, it’s far from the State-funded broadcaster’s biggest problem as it grapples with falling advertising revenue, rows over funding, an ageing TV viewership and the ever-growing threat from streaming services.
And then there’s the dismay that a leak over the appointment process should even happen.
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Irish Times media columnist Laura Slattery analyses recent events and the challenges facing the new DG. Presenter: Bernice Harrison. Producer: Declan Conlon.
