RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

jack of all

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121292092#Comment_121292092

The horror, the horror...

plastic glass

FS in the indo again continuing his crusade to get tubs back on rte it seem!

does anyone else find this a little unsettling? Keep pushing an agenda no matter how baseless, leaving out important facts, whip up enough frenzy then get the win like getting tubs an apology or even back on the airwaves.

its daily mail strategy 101. FS and the indo need to let it go, it’s over. Rte no saints but tubs no saint either and deserves not to have another contract

Rubberchikken

So agree.

Just reading it and it seems like the push is on to have tubs exonerated and back on the airways.

This man will not stay down🥴 I swear to god he has no shame. And the Indo is just encouraging it .

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293131#Comment_121293131

The story spun out of control. For the Indo, it looked like it got a scoop that would have lasted a few days and wouldn't have affected FF or FG politicians. Only a Green politician was responsible. The unexpected consequences were the near destruction of RTE, the removal of RTE board and some management, the collapse of the licence fee collection and Tubridy losing the radio show. What has emerged is that the timeslot is the real star and responsible for getting the audience rather than Tubridy.

After Tubridy's services were no longer required, the argument that the "talent" had to be paid well over the market rates (which were already skewed due to the obscene position of RTE as a licence fee funded and advertising funded broadcaster making other broadcasters non-competitive) was shown to be rubbish. If that claim was true then Tubridy would have been snapped up by another Irish broadcaster as soon as he became available. What happened to the Ryanstone cowboy? Those offers didn't come over the phone. No Irish offers. No UK offers. No US offers. He's on the Alan Partridge circuit now and not as successful as Alan Partridge.

The initial story led to Tubridy's removal and the near destruction of RTE. The problem for other "talent" now is that their exorbitant salaries are under the spotlight. This may lead to a normalisation of salaries that reflects the market. There is an incestuous relationship between RTE and the Dublin media with appearances and the associated fees, the press conferences and the free booze and nibbles. A financially restructured RTE would lead to lower appearance fees and less free stuff for the entertainment journalists. A Sindo editor, Brendan O'Connor has a successful second career in RTE. He was more successful than Tubridy in getting viewers for his TV show. RTE cancelled the show because it was outperforming Tubridy's LLS. His salary and all those of the "talent" will be reviewed.

Apart from the recycled press releases and PR puff pieces, the consequences of Beaker running that initial story are still playing out. It was good journalism. There seems to be a sense of guilt at the consequences. In journalistic terms, it was like Wategate when a reporter was just sent to cover a court hearing over a break-in at the Democrat party office in the Watergate building. That led to the impeachment and resignation of President Richard Nixon.

The Tubridy story led to the removal of Tubridy from RTE, resignations in RTE, the collapse of the licence fee payments, RTE being restructured. And the damage to RTE and the zelebrities isn't over yet. As for the Indo and the Sindo, they need to fill the space between the advertising. I don't think that they expected to have Tubridy and a bunch of others removed from RTE. The consequences are still playing out for RTE and its current employees.The Dublin media village is a small one and high profile sacrifices by RTE may have shocked the villagers who will no longer get free flip-flops and trips to major sporting events.The Indo ruined it for them.

Regards...jmcc

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293131#Comment_121293131

It’s clear that if he ever does come back, that he’ll have to pay back the 150k - which essentially means working for free for a year- and likely doing a lot more hours than he did in the past for less money, now that the exorbitant fees justifications are rightly proved to be completely mythical and self serving.

Would he eat that much humble pie? Damn right he would - he’s a complete fish out of water right now and doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere, fast or slow.

Podcasting might be his saviour shorterm but I don’t see how you can make much money from that by just doing a few intimate interviews and minor C listers - it won’t pay the bills and a regular show just won’t get traction- there’s too many other choices out there .

HildaOgdenx

I'm still gobsmacked tbh that he was so close to having his feet back under the RTE desk where he no doubt feels he rightly belongs. Soooo close. If only he could have kept his mouth shut.

And that's the thing, imo, he can't keep his mouth shut. His demeanour, everything about him at the appearances before the committees said 'what on earth am I doing here, do they not know who I am...'

He wouldn't be able to resist putting over his side of the story as he sees it, if he were ever to return to RTE. And while he wasn't the only one involved by any means, he quickly became the face of the rot that is apparently endemic in RTE.

It would be a really bad move to reinstate him. A really really bad move. That's not to say it couldn't happen unfortunately. I certainly hope that it doesn't.

Let him find a job that matches his talents. Whatever they are.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293279#Comment_121293279

I don't think that podcasting is quite the solution for Tubridy. Podcasting requires the audience to be built up over time. The formerly famous Tubridy has no audience. It was only ever RTE's audience (Pat Kenny also learned this lesson but he had the ability and the presence to build his own audience.)

I simply don't trust the figures that are used to justify advertising rates in the Irish media. There's no verification or feedback loop with these figures. With podcasting that feedback loop is present and listeners or viewers can be measured more accurately. That livestream on Youtube of Tubridy's appearance at a pensions gig got 116 viewers according to reports here. Many of them were probably journalists. There are kids unboxing toys on YT who get thousands or tens of thousands of viewers. The formerly famous Tubridy just isn't interesting and without the support system that was provided by RTE for decades, his weekday wibblings are no longer of interest to most people if they ever were. He's not Eamon Dunphy or Joe Rogan. Even the Sindo hasn't given him a column.

Regards...jmcc

Montage of Feck

Kielty with Daniel O'Donnell last night really brought home what an absolute shambles Tubridys hosting of the LLS was.

The only real asset Tubridy has is his painfully obvious self- incidence, and that is really only self-serving, it doesn’t make for good broadcasting/podcasting content

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293532#Comment_121293532

Some people have presence. Others merely have a misplaced sense of self-importance? :)

Regards...jmcc

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293265#Comment_121293265

I thought bocs show was cancelled because they invested ridiculously in Ray darcy

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293646#Comment_121293646

His show was getting more viewers than Tubridy's LLS, I think. The LLS was RTE's flagship programme and Tubridy sunk it. As for D'Arcy, what the f*ck were they thinking?

Regards...jmcc

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293822#Comment_121293822

Correction- what the fck are they still thinking 😀

Field east

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293279#Comment_121293279

He is MORALLY obliged to RETURN the €150,000 . It was an advance payment for work that he did not carry out and more than likely never will - unless Toyota - I think- arrange with him to do work to that value at some stage. I’d say that Toyota will drive the proverbial from him

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293984#Comment_121293984

Twas Ren-alt (PAC pronunciation) not Toyota btw

plastic glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293494#Comment_121293494

Very true. I watched the LLS for more than 10 minutes for the 2nd time in about 7 years. The first being kielty’s first show

I found it fairly enjoyable last night. If tubs was on I wouldn’t have been able to stomach more than 2 minutes.

I only turned it over when some influencer came on when the first words out of her mouth were about Rosanna Davidson

Higgins5473

Podcasting is a tough gig and even those that make it to the top of the Irish charts aren’t making whopper sums of money. The Second Captains lads are doing ok but have been at it a long time and what they get isn’t exorbitant. What they do have is ability and know how in their field of discussion. Tubs is goosed, he has neither talent nor expert knowledge on anything so I can’t see him getting anywhere and his main interest seems to be remuneration. All things considered here, and I’m sure himself and Noel ‘show me the money’ Kelly have also, it probably isn’t a goer. Think tubs should look for some shıt day time game show, one that only pensioners, the unemployed and students that smoke copious amounts of weed all day watch, like that pile of shıte with the giant discs getting pushed seems like a good fit for him and about his limit.

HildaOgdenx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293494#Comment_121293494

I just watched the clips on the RTE website. Daniel is very droll, never afraid to have a bit of crack at his own expense. He and Kielty were funny together 😁.

John arse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294060#Comment_121294060

Me too I probably watched 20 minutes though!

Mr Disco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294062#Comment_121294062

I thought Tubrity was after installing a state of the art studio in his gaff?

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294062#Comment_121294062

Think tubs should look for some shıt day time game show, one that only pensioners, the unemployed and students that smoke copious amounts of weed all day watch, like that pile of shıte with the giant discs getting pushed seems like a good fit for him and about his limit

I'm sure that's already occurred to him, given the TV character he obviously models himself on

https://twitter.com/FrTedQOTD/status/577375141488775169

Caquas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293265#Comment_121293265

The story has spun out of control, even becoming an existential threat to RTÉ, but it’s nonsense to suggest that the Indo wouldn’t have run with this story if it threatened FF or FG.

The Indo was very happy to take down Barry Cowen at the start of this government and then Phil Hogan, the biggest of FG’s dogs outside cabinet. (I’m not defending either of them). And the Indo has not relented as the RTÉ story grew legs. This is their most read story today

https://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/revealed-what-rte-really-knew-before-it-shamed-and-blamed-ryan-tubridy/a1125860570.html

There are some senior people in the Indo who are deeply unhappy about what has happened in RTÉ, and and that is a factor worth exploring, but if you think this wouldn’t have happened under an FF or FG Minister, you, and those thanking you here, understand nothing about the media in Ireland.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294203#Comment_121294203

I don't understand that article perhaps I am on the wrong foot here.

1. RTÉ's initial report from GT showed the use of the barter account for a top up payment for Tubs, and this top up was never mention in his earnings.
2. That initial report spoke about Tubrity forgoing the "loyalty fee" of €120,000 from the previous contract.
3. I understood it that the first report never suggested that Tubs was in the wrong for the misrepresentation of the fee as reported by RTÉ for those years rather, RTÉ though they had added the "loyalty fee" to the final published fees for those years and when they heard that Tubs had decided not to collect (due to new contract negotiations).
4. They then made the mistake of removing €50,000 from year 5, €50,000 from year 4 and a final €20,000 from year 3.
5. The second report was commissioned verify largely the first report, which it did (though not exonerating Tubs for this part of the the scandal because he was only a minor player who fail to speak up when the lower figures were reported).
6. Then the second report concluded that
   1. RTÉ where simply mistake
   2. or that potentially RTÉ wanted to hide the real fees to suggest that they were making the cuts to top earners wages as they suggested they were doing.

I would go with b. being the major factor, why spread the loyalty fee across 3 previous years rather then adding it to the final year?

Now the Indo inform us that RTÉ knew of these changes made before the report? I would have thought that was why they were investigating it.

But I am open to correction.

John arse

He should buy into these???

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293984#Comment_121293984

Renault

Caquas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294282#Comment_121294282

We can only guess at the machinations behind this Indo story but its main claim is that RTÉ Board knew the under-reporting of Tubridy’s pay was the fault of RTÉ management, not of Tubridy himself, when the story broke and RTÉ named him as the star whose pay was under-reported.

We already knew that it was the RTÉ Finance Director who came up with the deceptive figures (apparently to avoid showing anyone earning more than half-a-million annually) but this elevates the deception to Board level.

RTÉ were quick to issue a rebuttal today, or at least to say it didn't hide anything, or err... that it handed over the documents which the PAC requested.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41257891.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This looks like part of Fionnán Sheahan's campaign to support Tubridy at the expense of RTÉ bosses. But it ignores the moral issue, which Tubridy himself fails to appreciate, that he was up to his neck in the "Renault deal" and he kept his mouth shut when the media were deceived about his earnings.

The story also undermines JMCC's thesis that the Indo didn't want this story to spin out of control. The Indo has been feeding this story consistently and playing a complicated game with Noel Kelly's crew.

I wonder does anyone here have the inside story on the Indo v. RTÉ v. Noel Kelly? Our two largest media organisations by far used to work hand-in-glove and Kelly was in the middle, but that relationship may have broken down after MediaHuis bought out the Indo. Now that's a story which the hoi polloi won't hear.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294203#Comment_121294203

You are familiar with the Sindo/Indo and its adoration of FG and FF? Initially, this story looked like it would only make a Green minister look bad. Cowen had become a liability and a leadership threat to Mehole Martin. Hogan had also become a liability. The Indo has been trying to rehabilitate Tubridy and blame RTE management for what happened. As for understanding the media, I might have some insights which you do not. There's a great quote from a journalism movie that sums up the RTE/Sindo/Indo situation: "The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand."

Regards...jmcc

Hyperbollix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293416#Comment_121293416

Oh he'll be back, don't worry. These lads never go away. I couldn't say when, and I doubt it will be in the near future, but we know Kevin B has no real fundamental issue with the idea of him returning, so it's just a matter of time.

He has to get back on the state teet eventually. Tubridy is a busted flush out in the real world. Many of us always knew he would be, but were laughed out of town by those who couldn't comprehend how someone earning 700k at one point could be anything but a broadcasting heavyweight! As Jmcc said, we're finding out now that even the Alan Partridge speaking circuit is proving too onerous for him. Any other "top tier" tv and radio host with 20 years experience would have already secured a podcast deal, a newspaper column or even started a YT channel were they could expect to hit the ground running with a loyal audience coming with them to the new venture. Not a peep of anything from Tubs. He has nothing to offer anyone when it comes to broadcasting, apart from maybe his well honed "Ah shure lookit isn't it terrible" routine which he has used to steal a living for years. He's the Meghan Markle of Irish media. "Pay me lots of cash and don't expect me to do any work for it, remember who I am"

None of this will matter though. Once the RTE saga is ancient history, once the licence fee debacle is put to bed, Tubridy will be quietly reinstated. I'm going to guess he won't have ANY problem whatsoever if he's offered 150k. He'll snap their hand off.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294062#Comment_121294062

Podcasting is indeed a tough gig. I have been doing it 7 years and the money is just ok. Very few people podcasting make big money and the money is made in the advertising. Tubs is probably finding it tough to get a sponsor, just look at Cooper and Yates who haven't got a sponsor yet and they are very well known.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121295229#Comment_121295229

The problem for Tubridy is that the situation in RTE has become toxic for him. The people who approved his deals are either gone or on the way out. The staff in RTE are probably still rather upset about all this and may be reluctant to work with him if he is let back into RTE. The new management will not want to be associated with the failures of the past (Tubridy, Forbes et al) and so will be reluctant to give him a job.

The scale of the licence fee non-renewals will also have horrified RTE's managent and FFG politicians. There are still potential redundancies on the way for RTE and given the way that lots of RTE people seem to be related, that wouldn't be good for Tubridy as he is the face of the scandal. Even the Sindo didn't give him a column but then the Sindo and the Indo (Independent News and Media) were taken over in a firesale by Mediahuis a few years ago and both newspapers have been struggling as people stop buying print newspapers.

Regards...jmcc