Why do people boast about not watching RTÉ?

nkl12xtw5goz70

The quality of RTE's news and current affairs coverage is very poor. They seem to aim for a simplified, dumbed-down explanation of everything. For in-depth, nuanced understanding of an economic or political issue such as Brexit, I know that UK and international news sources will provide a level of intelligent, detailed, and insightful commentary that will never feature on RTE.

Turquoise Hexagon Sun

completedit wrote: »

Every time a discussion about RTÉ comes up, you’ll get the usual types who say ‘I just watch Netflix’, can nobody see how bad this is for society?
It’s important to have an engaged public, a public who cares about what’s happening in the country, whose engaged in some way in public discourse and one important medium this can be achieved is through a national broadcaster.
It was a much more interesting time when people actually were engaged in what was going on, and not just consumed by the latest binge series viewing on Netflix(which is ****e btw)

The irony of us here, engaging in public discourse, on the internet, away from RTE.

RTE, and TV in general is mostly crap. By TV, I mean old-skool format with adverts every 5 or 10 minutes. Shows commissioned by out-of-touch programming directors. More adverts. It boggles the mind why anyone over under 40 still uses old skool television as their main form of entertainment.

Netflix provides feature length documentaries about very specific topics from war to politics to climbing. These are critically acclaimed documentaries that are 1hr30mins (feature length) with no stupid ads. Even if there were ads, I'm sure the quality of ads would at least be targeted to me with precision unlike TV ads which just make general guess at who's watching based on the programming.

Netflix has films. TV shows that I can engage in. TV shows that are world class. I can also watch Italian, Spanish, Turkish TV series with the subtitles and pick up some language skills on the way and discover some new culture.

If you think RTE is culturally enriching, fair enough. I personally don't think so. If I want to stay in touch with national interests, there's Boards.ie, entertainment news sites, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, various news sites etc etc. Or I can just go outside and actually talk to people

Hangdogroad

completedit wrote: »

Every time a discussion about RTÉ comes up, you’ll get the usual types who say ‘I just watch Netflix’, can nobody see how bad this is for society?
It’s important to have an engaged public, a public who cares about what’s happening in the country, whose engaged in some way in public discourse and one important medium this can be achieved is through a national broadcaster.
It was a much more interesting time when people actually were engaged in what was going on, and not just consumed by the latest binge series viewing on Netflix(which is ****e btw)

If RTE wasn't wall to wall reality shows and cheaply produced rubbish I might watch it from time to time.

Hangdogroad

TuringBot47 wrote: »

I don't see the value of RTE, apart from the odd hit like "Love/Hate".
There are programs that have local interest, but maybe they should be the equivalent of cable TV in America and on low budget channels maybe even YouTube channels.


In fact, why should the taxpayer even pay for Tg4 ?

Have a referendum to write off the Irish language and switch to English.
It would save hundreds of thousands if not millions to let it go and admit it's a dead language.

TG4 is providing a far superior service to RTE and I don't speak a word of Irish.

sbsquarepants

Emery Gentle Babel wrote: »

The quality of RTE's news and current affairs coverage is very poor.

Do you think? I would have thought it was one of their stronger areas.

That being said i haven't watched much of it in a good while, but it certainly used to be fairly decent (albeit a tad biased)

Manach

I've not given given any though to RTE for years, as it represents a viewpoint/establshment viewpoint that I have no engagement with. My entertainment/education requirements are based on books without the input of the D4 cliche. This does though respresent a fractionalisation of society, which were once what RTE broadcast was a common topic of discussion, is now met with indifference.

Sir Guy who smiles

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Tell us how many hours of RTE you watch per week. Name the programmes you tune into regularly (apart from the news).

Why are you excluding the news?
That's one of the most important parts of a public broadcasting service.

Many here disagree with RTE's editorial stance, but the bare facts are right more than 90% of the time.

(and few news sources get 100%).

Sir Guy who smiles

_Brian wrote: »

If people want “public service broadcast”, one tv station and one radio station would easily cover that.

I do agree with the OP about his basic premise; we need public broadcasting, and many give out about RTE because it's not cool/want to get out of paying the licence fee.

However I also agree that a lot of current RTE programming isn't public broadcasting, imported comedies for example. I don't think you need to cut it down to one TV station and one radio station, because now all broadcasting is digital I don't think broadcasting extra channels is the expensive bit, it is generating (or buying) the content that costs money.

Limit RTE TV to News/current affairs, Irish sport, Irish made programmes both one-offs and serials, documentaries. Irish made movies, especially on bank holidays and Xmas. Use judicious repeats to fill in the midnight-8am slots instead of bought-in programmes.

I would keep TG4, it may cost a bit but is much better value for money than RTE.

As for Radio, I agree with a lot here that 2FM is hard to justify! Perhaps there is room here to give airtime to documentary makers and musical programming that might not fit into the fairly regimented daily schedule of RTE radio 1.

I would like to keep RTE jnr, there should at least be some local options for what kids watch.

Sir Guy who smiles

joe40 wrote: »

I was switching between Sean Moncrieff and Ray D'arcy the other day and the difference in quality was pronounced.

I think that may reflect the difference in talent between the presenters, and maybe their researchers. Moncrieff is head and shoulders over a lot of Newstalk shows.

sbsquarepants

Sir Guy who smiles wrote: »

I do agree with the OP about his basic premise; we need public broadcasting, and many give out about RTE because it's not cool/want to get out of paying the licence fee.

.

I think there's a general perception that the money given to RTE is just pissed away without a care in the world for the consequences, and to be honest it's easy to see why that perception arises!

Someone on newstalk the other day was making the point, that if you gave Dermot Desmond 190 million of a hand out each year and told him to run along and set up his own version of RTE there's not a snowballs chance that he'd loose money, yet RTE can never seem to avoid doing just that.

€50,000 a day for orchestras? Come on now!

RTE is just a gravy train

Shefwedfan

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I think there's a general perception that the money given to RTE is just pissed away without a care in the world for the consequences, and to be honest it's easy to see why that perception arises!

Someone on newstalk the other day was making the point, that if you gave Dermot Desmond 190 million of a hand out each year and told him to run along and set up his own version of RTE there's not a snowballs chance that he'd loose money, yet RTE can never seem to avoid doing just that.

€50,000 a day for orchestras? Come on now!

RTE is just a gravy train

The Orchestra serves a purpose I would say.....


Lots of other things in RTE doesn't

EmmetSpiceland

Shefwedfan wrote: »

The Orchestra serves a purpose I would say.....


Lots of other things in RTE doesn't

Isn’t there two? And we have to pay to see them play.

I don’t know how many of their performances are played on RTÉ radio but wouldn’t hurt to show some on television either.

riclad

Theres probably people have no cable tv or sky tv who watch most tv on rte1,2, tg4 .
there are many rural area,s where broadband is not avaidable ,
so there s no way of watching netflix or other streaming tv services .
the only choice is to watch rte through saorview,

rte shows many high quality drama,s ,comedy from america and the uk.
Its not just news, sport and reality tv .

end of the road

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Someone on newstalk the other day was making the point, that if you gave Dermot Desmond 190 million of a hand out each year and told him to run along and set up his own version of RTE there's not a snowballs chance that he'd loose money, yet RTE can never seem to avoid doing just that.

of course he wouldn't, he would most likely just fill it with imported cheap content.

sbsquarepants

Shefwedfan wrote: »

The Orchestra serves a purpose I would say.....


Lots of other things in RTE doesn't

What purpose does it serve?

To my mind it's just elitist crap. Why do we need 2 state funded orchestras? Why don't we have state funded rappers, or rock bands?

What is so special about orchestral music that the tax payer needs to pony up 50k a day?

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Do isn’t there two? And we have to pay to see them play.

I don’t know how many of their performances are played on RTÉ radio but wouldn’t hurt to show some on television either.

It's hard to argue that you run a tight ship when you have a spare orchestra lying around somewhere:D:D

riclad

rte are under pressure due to falling advertising revenue,
there are more people out there using online streaming ,pcs or laptops to watch tv.
so license fee revenue is also decreasing .
they could close down some radio digital stations ,
Turn tg 4 into a station that shows old programs or programs that are on rte 1 ,2 a week later and just sports events ,hurling,gaa .

RobertKK

The problem with RTE is this: It is the state broadcaster but it is used as a means to push certain opinions by presenters and this is why the Primetime Investigates got the 'Mission to prey' program so badly wrong that it was bordering on criminal.
Imagine doing a program based on lies and deciding they knew the truth about the priest. The priest being totally innocent was portrayed by RTE as a sex abuser.
This went all the way to the courts before RTE settled on the steps of the courts as it was just telling us a load of lies.
The thing is I think this bias which caused this most disgraceful and horrific event - imagine being innocent and you are put on prime time TV without any say and the TV station tells the nation lies about your character...
There is no evidence this bias has gone away, people in RTE think they know best, are smarter and wiser than the people watching.
This is why we get people like Ryan Tubridy fawning over war criminals like Hillary Clinton who voted for every war going and pushed for more war as secretary of state.
Of course Tubridy did not ask her why she laughed at Gaddafi being murdered by being stabbed through his anus and is she ashamed that her actions in regards to Libya has made it a haven for terrorists and slave traders.
Instead it was love in, this is why RTE is not worth watching most of the time.
Rather than being balanced it would rather tell us people like Hillary Clinton is great and if a Republican, they are somehow worse.
Maybe war is good for TV viewership when it comes to the RTE news...

Loafing Oaf

riclad wrote: »

Turn tg 4 into a station that shows old programs or programs that are on rte 1 ,2 a week later and just sports events ,hurling,gaa .

TG4 is an entirely separate operation

Andreas77

I'd ride her like a bucking bronco. I'd put a saddle on that pony and ride her bareback, pump, pump, pump, pump, I always fancied her from my Harry potter days, gee up, I want to move my hand through the fine light hair on her arse

Hangdogroad

Andreas77 wrote: »

I'd ride her like a bucking bronco. I'd put a saddle on that pony and ride her bareback, pump, pump, pump, pump, I always fancied her from my Harry potter days, gee up, I want to move my hand through the fine light hair on her arse

I think you might have posted in the wrong thread.

Loafing Oaf

Hangdogroad wrote: »

I think you might have posted in the wrong thread.

Unless he's talking about Hillary Clinton:eek:

sbsquarepants

Andreas77 wrote: »

I'd ride her like a bucking bronco. I'd put a saddle on that pony and ride her bareback, pump, pump, pump, pump, I always fancied her from my Harry potter days, gee up, I want to move my hand through the fine light hair on her arse

Now this is just the kind of programming RTE needs, not Daniel O'****ingDonnell touring around shítty B and B's with his fag hag:D

TheDavester

Andreas77 wrote: »

I'd ride her like a bucking bronco. I'd put a saddle on that pony and ride her bareback, pump, pump, pump, pump, I always fancied her from my Harry potter days, gee up, I want to move my hand through the fine light hair on her arse

oh my!!! that would be a more interesting show than the Crap they pedal on RTE Daily

Airyfairy12

RobertKK wrote: »

The problem with RTE is this: It is the state broadcaster but it is used as a means to push certain opinions by presenters and this is why the Primetime Investigates got the 'Mission to prey' program so badly wrong that it was bordering on criminal.
Imagine doing a program based on lies and deciding they knew the truth about the priest. The priest being totally innocent was portrayed by RTE as a sex abuser.
This went all the way to the courts before RTE settled on the steps of the courts as it was just telling us a load of lies.
The thing is I think this bias which caused this most disgraceful and horrific event - imagine being innocent and you are put on prime time TV without any say and the TV station tells the nation lies about your character...
There is no evidence this bias has gone away, people in RTE think they know best, are smarter and wiser than the people watching.
This is why we get people like Ryan Tubridy fawning over war criminals like Hillary Clinton who voted for every war going and pushed for more war as secretary of state.
Of course Tubridy did not ask her why she laughed at Gaddafi being murdered by being stabbed through his anus and is she ashamed that her actions in regards to Libya has made it a haven for terrorists and slave traders.
Instead it was love in, this is why RTE is not worth watching most of the time.
Rather than being balanced it would rather tell us people like Hillary Clinton is great and if a Republican, they are somehow worse.
Maybe war is good for TV viewership when it comes to the RTE news...

One of the biggest problems with RTE is that none of the presenters or broadcasters are relatable anymore, theyre all upper middle class D4 heads.
Its also very Dublin centric and has no interest or focus on anything outside of Dublin city. It looses interest from people outside of the capital.

_Brian

Had a look at the stats on the player there.
2/5 stars on App Store
1.5/5 on play store.

Play store one is based on something like 10,000 reviews.

Seriously bad form they can’t even produce an app that is even slightly functional.

Aidric

_Brian wrote: »

Had a look at the stats on the player there.
2/5 stars on App Store
1.5/5 on play store.

Play store one is based on something like 10,000 reviews.

Seriously bad form they can’t even produce an app that is even slightly functional.

It's symptomatic of a wider malaise within RTE. They are about five years behind the curve with no clear vision on how they propose to remedy this. The buck has to stop with the DG. She has been in the role for 3.5 years and has done nothing proactively to address the crisis that has been obvious for years.

The RTE player has been an abomination for years. You would expect a DG with their finger on the pulse to make this an immediate priority upon appointment but obviously not. That tells me all I need to know why RTE is in a hole. Placating cardboard legacy presenters like Tubridy and Duffy isn't going to deliver you a profitable future.

Master of the Omniverse

Loafing Oaf wrote: »

Unless he's talking about Hillary Clinton:eek:

I'm trying really hard not to allow my mind to picture that scenario.

Alf Veedersane

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You don't need RTE to be engaged, informed or involved on public discourse

They are required for quite the opposite if you ask me. A dreadful, government controlled, bias agenda ridden broadcaster and a gravy train for vaccous self absorbed presenters that would not get a job in any other country in the world. Ray f**king D'arcy on 450k a year.....avin a larff really

paleoperson

I have to say, I agree with OP to an extent. I do get the sense sometimes that some people are just hating on RTE to put themselves on some kind of pedestal.

paleoperson

paleoperson wrote: »

I have to say, I agree with OP to an extent. I do get the sense sometimes that some people are just hating on RTE to put themselves on some kind of pedestal.

You could apply the same old one that people say about not having Facebook.
How do you know someone doesn't watch RTE? Because they'll be sure to tell you they don't.