Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht

Future of Public Service Broadcasting and Impact of Covid-19 on the Media Sector: Discussion

Photo of Brendan GriffinBrendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----for the stations he represents for all the reasons that have been laid out.

I will not go over that old ground again, but the stations need assistance and Mr. Purcell, and all the people he represents, are doing a fantastic job.

I also concur with Mr. Dooley. We need to follow up on the Government public health advertising and messaging. That appears to be an extraordinary omission on the part of the State for a sector that is crucial and has so much penetration.

The timing here is very important. This week, in particular, I have been dismayed by the large amount of misinformation online and the massive amount of fake news. If there is one thing the outgoing President of the United States left us with, it is the term "fake news". However, there is so much of it in the public domain, it is shocking. Democracy requires investment to protect reliable, verified sources and the people represented by the witnesses do that. It is incumbent on all of us to work to that end.

Mr. Lynch is very welcome. There has been much talk about "Normal People", but the return of "The Den" has been a great tonic for the country. To see Zig and Zag, Dustin and Ray D'Arcy together on television is fantastic and gives a lift to many. There was one child watching it with tears in his eyes last Sunday night after Kerry was knocked out of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship by Cork. It certainly made him feel better. That was just me. My two children were watching it as well in our house. It is fascinating to hear that many of the people who are watching it are now in their 50s and 60s. They were parents of young children when "The Den" was first broadcast on television, which is an interesting observation. That is a good departure and is very positive at this time for people.

However, I am mindful of the great content that exists in the archive. I realise that "The Den" is a fresh attempt and is very successful, which is not always the case when people try to revive a programme. This has been a success from the start, as far as I can see. Take the example of "Bachelors Walk" from 2002. The second series is on at present and people love it. "Pure Mule" was shown during the first lockdown, along with other programmes such as "Love/Hate". There is a rich archive in RTÉ and further delving into it would be much appreciated by the public, as well, of course, as investment in new content. That is something that could be done. RTÉ has a very good archive online but bringing it more mainstream is important, particularly for a demographic that is not online very much.

It is critical that we invest again in the national broadcaster. I have some concerns about the overall remit of the national broadcaster, where the private sector has filled what was originally set out as being the only show in town. I am thinking of the remit of RTÉ's 2FM and the competition that exists now. I wonder if there is room for rationalisation in that regard. However, there is still a huge space there and RTÉ deserves further funding.

The committee will continue to work in the interests of public service broadcasting and verifiable and reliable news, because that is one of the key threats to the State at present. It is happening throughout the world, but it is very evident in Ireland and especially in the last couple of weeks. It is incredibly worrying. I thank the witnesses for the work they are doing. The committee will continue our work.

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