Why public content is more than one institution and why we need to create a national digital archive
One of the interesting aspects of the new broadcasting legislation, which has created the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland), is that it has sought to deepen the definition of public broadcasting or more precisely public content and increase the public’s access to the institutions which create public content. The new law mandates all broadcasters to create audience councils which will represent the public and ensure the public interest is served. It also allows for a public right of reply which means people have a channel to seek a right of reply outside of the courts and gives greater weight to the concept of the public ownership of broadcasting in terms of the content that i

All change at broadcasting regulator
Its been a long time coming but finally a combined broadcasting regulator for both the public and commercial sectors in Ireland has arrived. From this month the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) becomes the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). It is the same place and largely the same people but underneath a lot is changing as the new broadcasting act takes effect and brings the once divided worlds of RTE and the independent commercial sector closer. The BAI will replace the RTE Authority, the Ministerial appointed body which governs RTE and to which the Executive board of RTE reports. The current Authority will integrate into the new board of the BAI ( to be chaired by former

Social Media bandwagons
We seem to be drowning in online, web and social media conferences, seminars and even summits. Yet very few of the events really inspire. One of the difficulties with the forest of events tagging themselves social media is that most of them are being run from a solely sales and marketing view of online communications and many are run on a sales basis looking at how people gain quick fixes from the convergence of content online and transfer their analogue thinking to a digital habitat. Its the wrong way to start the discussion and probably ensures people miss the nature of what is changing in an online world. For us the journey is a communications one where a Web 2.0 environment, where hi

A Tower Songs Happy Birthday for Rose
I am clearly not destined to actually be at the PPI radio awards when we win something. Some years back, 2001 I think, I was then Head of RTE Radio and Head of RTE Radio 1, but when the station won the best station of the year award I was in my sick bed and had to get it all by text message on my phone. Any time since when I have gone it has either been in another capacity or like last year when ‘The Last Wake’ was short-listed - we didn’t win! But I am not complaining. Last Friday when our music documentary ‘Tower Songs’ was up for the music special of the year award I was once again in my sick bed with the flu, enjoying a quiet lemsip induced sleep, when t

Tower Songs for Radio Award
Its that time of year again. Dark evenings beckon and award ceremonies on a weekly basis for every sector and activity. I’m waiting for the ‘Best Aunt’ competition which is probably the only one worth winning. But in the meantime there’s the PPI Radio Awards in Kilkenny in October when the radio industry prove that some of us (a very rare few) have faces as well as voices. Its a big ticket affair with lots of frocks, alcohol and just an element of in house bitching (and that’s just Tony Fenton..polishing his array of shiny toys). But it’s also about radio and some really great radio from features and documentaries to music shows and news & current