RTÉ Executive

(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. RTÉ also publishes a weekly listings and lifestyle magazine, the ''RTÉ Guide''.

RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of the Executive Board, headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. RTÉ is financed by television licence fee and through advertising, with some of its services funded solely by advertising, while others are funded solely by the licence fee.

Radio Éireann, RTÉ's predecessor and at the time a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950.

History

Establishment and name

Broadcasting in Ireland began in 1926 with 2RN in Dublin. From that date until June 1960 the broadcasting service (2RN, later Radio Éireann) operated as a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, and those working for the service were directly employed by the Irish Government and regarded as civil servants.

RTÉ was established on 1 June 1960 (as ''Radio Éireann'') under the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960, the principal legislation under which it still operates. The existing Radio Éireann service was transferred to the new authority, which was also made responsible for the new television service (''Telefís Éireann''). The television service started broadcasting on 31 December 1961, from the Kippure transmitter site near Dublin. Eamonn Andrews was the first Chairman of Radio Éireann, the first director-general was Edward Roth. The name of the authority was changed, at the suggestion of Áine Ní Cheanainn, to ''Radio Telefís Éireann'' by the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act 1966, and both the radio and television services became known as RTÉ in that year.

Section 113 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 changed the name of the organisation from "Radio Telefís Éireann" to " Raidió Teilifís Éireann", to reflect the current standard spelling of the name in Irish.

The "É" in RTÉ is incorrectly said as the English letter "E". "É" in Irish is pronounced like "ay". (Example: NCI/CNÉ)

Broadcasting ban

Under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960 the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs of the day could direct RTÉ "not to broadcast any matter, or any matter of any particular class". In 1971 the first such directive was issued by Gerry Collins, directing RTÉ not to broadcast "any matter that could be calculated to promote the aims or activities of any organisation which engages in, promotes, encourages or advocates the attaining of any particular objective by violent means". A year later Collins dismissed the entire RTÉ Authority over a report of an interview with Seán Mac Stíofáin, the chief of staff of the Provisional IRA. RTÉ reporter Kevin O'Kelly had reported, not broadcast, his taped interview with Mac Stiofáin. He was jailed briefly for contempt in a court case arising out of the interview when Mac Stiofáin was charged with IRA membership. O'Kelly refused to identify Mac Stiofáin's as the voice on his unbroadcast interview. The tape had been seized from his house by the Garda Síochána (police).

In 1976, Section 31 was amended by Conor Cruise O'Brien as 1973-77 Minister for Posts & Telegraphs. He issued a new annually-based directive to the RTÉ authority, prohibiting the broadcast of interviews or reports of interviews with spokespersons for, or representatives of, Sinn Féin, the IRA and other named organisations. RTÉ was also banned from broadcasting interviews or reports of interviews with spokespersons for any organisation banned in Northern Ireland under the UK's Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. The directives were reissued on an annual basis, up to January 1993.

During the late 1970s, RTÉ was accused of extending the censorship rules into a system of self-censorship. A small minority of programme-makers also emerged who approved of Section 31, particularly supporters of the Workers' Party (formerly Sinn Féin the Workers' Party), including Eoghan Harris, and Gerry Gregg who opposed that party's official policy. Opponents of censorship were portrayed as secret IRA sympathizers, including then reporter, later Irish President, Mary McAleese. She described the experience as, "the most difficult, the darkest, the worst time of my life".

The effect of the Section 31 ban was more severe than the censorship provision introduced in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The UK ban prevented the direct speech of censored individuals. Broadcasters then used actors' voices to dub the recorded speech of censored persons. This was not permissible on RTÉ, which was prevented from broadcasting 'reports' of interviews. British broadcasters interpreted the term 'spokesperson' more loosely than RTÉ, which banned all Sinn Féin members whether or not they were speaking on behalf of the party. The BBC interviewed Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams as MP for West Belfast on 1 October 1990, speaking on unemployment in his constituency. Larry O'Toole, then an ordinary Sinn Féin member, mentioned this in a letter to RTÉ Director of News Joe Mulhollend on 30 October 1990, after O'Toole was banned by RTÉ as a spokesperson for striking bakery workers. O'Toole then challenged the RTÉ ban in the High Court. In 1992–93, in ''O'Toole vs RTÉ'', RTÉ was found by the High Court and Supreme Court to have illegally and unconstitutionally extended the censorship ban to Sinn Féin members who were not speaking on behalf of Sinn Féin. The RTÉ ban did not affect UK stations broadcasting in the Republic of Ireland as, until 1988 at least, viewers in the Republic were still able to hear the voices of Sinn Féin representatives.

21st century

In 2004, RTÉ and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources agreed that in future, RTÉ would operate under a Public Service Broadcasting Charter.

On 29 June 2005 the Minister appointed the members of a new RTÉ Authority, replacing the previous one appointed in June 2000. Fintan Drury, chairman of Platinum sports management, and also chairman of Paddy Power plc, was appointed chairman of RTÉ. The other members of the Authority are Maria Killian, Patricia King, Ian Malcolm, Patrick Marron, Una Ní Chonaire, Emer Finnan, Stephen O'Byrnes and Joe O'Brien. The new Authority would hold office for not more than three years. On 11 January 2006, Fintan Drury resigned as chairman of RTÉ, citing a potential conflict of interest in his role as an advisor to the organisers of the Ryder Cup golf tournament and as chairman of a broadcaster involved in a row over broadcasting rights. This occurred after Irish government proposals to add the tournament to the list of sports events which must be broadcast on free-to-air terrestrial television, to which British Sky Broadcasting, the rights holders, were objecting. On 22 February 2006, Mary Finan was appointed Chairperson of the RTÉ Authority.

In September 2006, the Government published the proposed text of th
Broadcasting Bill 2006
It proposed that RTÉ and TG4 would become separate companies limited by guarantee, with the Minister as sole member of both companies (CLGs do not have shareholders). RTÉ would be legally obliged to agree a charter every five years and publish a statement of commitments every year, and be under the jurisdiction of the proposed Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The bill was delayed, but was finally introduced into Dáil Éireann on 14 April 2008. The Broadcasting Act 2009 retains RTÉ as a statutory corporation, but renamed the RTÉ Authority as the RTÉ Board and made changes to the way it is appointed. It also renamed the corporation ''Raidió Teilifís Éireann''. with the ''Irish Times'' noting that this thereby fixed a "spelling error that lasted 40 years". In the meantime, the ''Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007'' awarded RTÉ control of one multiplex for digital terrestrial television and giving it responsibilities in relation to broadcasting outside the state. In line with this, RTÉ and the government were currently in discussions with regard to a new channel proposed for to launch outside the Republic, which initially had the working titles of ''Diaspora TV'', and later RTÉ International. In April 2007, TG4 became an independent statutory corporation, having previously been a wholly owned subsidiary of RTÉ since its inception. RTÉ continues to contribute programmes to the channel, including Nuacht TG4.

In July 2007, RTÉ began participating in a HD trial in Dublin, showing programmes such as Planet Earth and Gaelic Athletic Association matches. RTÉ announced its plan to launch two further television channels; one general entertainment channel – '' RTÉ Three'' (working name) – and a timeshift service for RTÉ One – ''RTÉ One +1'' (working name).

On 24 February 2009 the Minister for Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, appointed the members of a new RTÉ Authority, replacing the previous one appointed in June 2006. Tom Savage of the Communications Clinic was appointed chairman of RTÉ. The other members of the Authority were Patricia Quinn, Karlin Lillington, Fergus Armstrong, Alan Gilsenan, Seán O'Sullivan, Emer Finnan. Cathal Goan then Director General, RTÉ as an ex-officio member of the Authority. The new Authority held office for not more than six months, due to changes planned under the Broadcasting Act 2009 which became law on 12 July 2009, dissolving the authority, and replacing it with an RTÉ Board. Under Section 179 (3) of the Act, any person who was a member of the Authority when the Act was signed into law continues as a member of the Board until the end of their term of office on 24 August 2009. Unlike the RTÉ Authority, the RTÉ Board has not the self-regulatory function over RTÉ, as this was transferred to a newly appointed Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that replaces the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland regulating commercial TV and radio. This helps assuage any concerns of the potential for bias that could be perceived under previous self-regulation by having a single regulator of public service and commercial Irish broadcasters into the future.

On 1 June 2009, the '' Sunday Independent'' reported that RTÉ was on the brink of bankruptcy. Such reports are denied by RTÉ, though the organisation acknowledges how under the current financial structure there is "serious financial difficulty" and a review of its financial procedures is underway and to be completed by 2010. On 11 June 2009 the Director General of RTÉ Cathal Goan reported to the Oireachtas that RTÉ was not bankrupt and that it would break even by year end On 3 July 2009, the RTÉ 2008 Annual Report was published. The organisation broke even in 2008. On 29 September 2009, RTÉ revealed a proposal for the regeneration of its existing building estimated to cost €350 million. If approved, the project would see the gradual replacement over a 10- to 15-year period of most of the current 1960s and 1970s buildings on the Donnybrook site. The new building would accommodate the switch over to high-definition, additional channels and new studios. RTÉ has since received planning consent from Dublin City Council for an application for the redevelopment of the station's Donnybrook site.The proposal for redevelopment of the site was accepted by local councillors last November 2009.The next stage of the planning process involves all parties having an opportunity to lodge appeals with An Bord Pleanála over the coming four weeks (by May 2010). The proposal would also involve building a new entrance onto the N11 Stillorgan dual carriageway.

Noel Curran was appointed Director-General of RTÉ from 1 February 2011 on 9 November 2010 for five years, replacing Cathal Goan who had decided not to seek an extension to the seven-year term which ended at end of January 2011. It was announced on 1 April 2016 that Dee Forbes would be the new Director General.

In 2012, RTÉ broadcast advertisements on Christmas Day in a break with tradition.

On 19 September 2022, Ray Kennedy and Kate Egan presented RTÉ's coverage of the funeral of Elizabeth II from London.

Income and expenditure

Budget

The following figures were issued by RTÉ as part of their annual report in 2012. In 2012 RTÉ received in total €180,894,000 in public funding from the licence fee, it also received €127,100,000 in commercial revenue. RTÉ total expenditure in 2012 was €327,023,000. They had restructuring costs of €46,161,000 in 2012. Losses for the year came to €65,147,000.

Profit and Loss across radio, television and online services.

RTÉ receives income from two main sources:
* The television licence fee. Within the State, it is necessary to pay a fee of €160 ''per annum'' to legally possess any piece of equipment capable of receiving television signals (not necessarily those of RTÉ). This money is collected by An Post on behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The state pays for TV Licence Inspectors who have the power to obtain and execute search warrants of private houses. Failure to possess a valid television licence can result in a fine and a criminal record.
* Commercial revenue including the sale of advertising and sponsorship. In the early 1990s Minister Ray Burke imposed commercial revenue quotas to limit the amount of revenue that RTÉ could procure through advertising, in view of the corporation's licence fee income. While such quotas were later removed RTÉ Radio and Television is still limited to 6 minutes of advertising per hour. The commercial division owned 0.086% of the Intelsat satellite firm, which it sold in 2005.

Even though commercial quotas have been removed, commercial revenue and the license fee each contribute roughly half of the organization's income. The licence fee does not fund RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ Aertel, ''RTÉ Guide'' or the website RTÉ.ie, however, each of these brands are indirectly funded by the licence fee through the use of content that is funded by the licence fee, such as News and Current Affairs.

Breakdown of the licence fee

RTÉ personality salaries

RTÉ's Director General in October 2009 said there was "no question that by today's standards" the salaries paid to its top presenters in 2008 "were excessive. I have to repeat that they were set at a different time in a different competitive reality where some of this talent might be up for poaching by other organisations and in RTÉ's view at the time, they delivered value for money ". Fine Gael said the high salaries were "rubbing salt in the wounds" for people who had lost their jobs or taken significant pay cuts. Labour criticised RTÉ for not releasing the data sooner and said "This information should be easily available and there should be no question of concealing it or making it in any way inaccessible ". Many of the highest-paid stars are not technically members of staff but are paid through separate companies, enabling them and the station to avoid paying tax on their salaries.

In January 2021, RTÉ published the list of salaries paid to its top 10 personalities in 2019:

# Ryan Tubridy: €495,000
# Ray D'Arcy: €450,000
# Joe Duffy: €392,494
# Marian Finucane: €358,013
# Sean O'Rourke: €327,988
# Miriam O'Callaghan: €320,000
# Claire Byrne: €250,000
# Brendan O'Connor: €220,000
# Bryan Dobson: €209,282
# Mary Wilson: €196,961

Organisation

RTÉ Board and Executive Board

RTÉ is a statutory corporation. Under its original governance arrangements (under the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960) its board was known as the RTÉ Authority. The members of the RTÉ Authority were appointed by the Cabinet upon the recommendation of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The RTÉ Authority was both the legal owner of RTÉ (under the 1960 Act, it ''was'' RTÉ) and was also its regulator.

Under the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ's governance arrangements have changed. The statutory corporation form has been retained, but the new Act no longer refers to the board of RTÉ as an "Authority" and it is now simply known as the Board. Of the 12 members of the Board which replaced the RTÉ Authority, the Minister appoints six, the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Climate and Communications decides on four names to present to the Minister for appointment, one member is elected by the staff of RTÉ, and the Director General sits on the Board ''ex officio''. The final members of the RTÉ Authority were reappointed to the new Board in the interim. The provisions of the Act relating to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland were commenced on 1 October 2009 (under Statutory Instrument 389 of 2009 of the Broadcasting Act 2009), RTÉ is externally regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

The RTÉ organisation is divided into six integrated business divisions (termed "IBDs" within RTÉ): RTÉ Television, RTÉ Radio, RTÉ News and Current Affairs, RTÉ Network, RTÉ Digital and RTÉ Orchestras Quartet & Choirs, together with Centrally Incurred Shared Services (Group Communications, Legal & Treasury, Central HR & IT Support, Group Insurance & Pension, Property and Site Facilities, ''RTÉ Guide'' Production, Publication & Advertising Sales) and a Corporate Headquarters. The Irish-language channel, TG4, was operated as a subsidiary of RTÉ (Serbhisí Telefís na Gaeilge Teoranta) prior to its separation from RTÉ on 1 April 2007.

The RTÉ Board appoints the Director-General of RTÉ who in effect fulfils the dual role of chief executive and of Editor in Chief. The Director-General heads the executive board of RTÉ, which comprises the company's top management and includes the chief financial officer, the Director of Communications and the managing directors of the television, radio, and news divisions.

Broadcasting

Radio

The first voice broadcast of 2RN, the original radio callsign for Radio 1, took place on 14 November 1925 when Seamus Clandillon, the 2RN station director said, 'Seo Raidió 2RN, Baile Átha Cliath ag tástáil', Irish for 'This is Radio 2RN, Dublin calling'. Regular Irish radio-broadcasting began on 1 January 1926. Unfortunately, most Irish people could not receive 2RN's (1.5 kilowatt) signal. When faced with numerous complaints from Cork regarding the writers' inability to tune to the signal, Clandillon remarked in ''The Irish Radio Review'', a magazine dedicated to the service, that they did not know how to operate their sets. 6CK was established in Cork in 1927; much of 6CK's output was simply a relay of the national service but it also had a significant input into the programmes of 2RN until it was closed down in the 1950s.

A high-power (initially 60 kW) station was established in Athlone, in 1932, to coincide with the staging of the Eucharistic Congress. 2RN, 6CK and Athlone became known as "Radio Athlone" ( ga, Raidió Áth Luain, links=no) and were receivable across virtually the entire country. Radio Athlone became known as "Radio Éireann" in 1938.

Radio Éireann tried to satisfy all tastes on a single channel (with very limited programming hours). However, this resulted in a rather conservative programming policy. It was barely tolerated by most Irish listeners, and usually trounced (particularly on the east coast and along the Northern Ireland border) by the BBC
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