Noel Curran stepping down as RTE DG

Sports Bra wrote: »

Who do you think will replace him ? Willie O Reilly would be my guess, If not Kevin Backhurst or Dan Healy.

The Cush wrote: »

First round interviews underway according to a piece in the Sunday Times today

Speculating on names in the mix, Kevin Bakhurst, head of TV Glen Killane, group commercial director Willie O'Reilly, chief digital officer Muirne Laffan, md of corporate development Brian Dalton.

Outside of RTÉ Rory Coveney, brother of Minister Simon Coveney and special advisor adviser to the current DG. Former TV3 boss David McRedmond and Simon Carson, husband of Miriam O'Callaghan.

Another name doing the rounds is Lucy Gaffney, chair of DOB's Communicorp and director of Digicel and former board member of INM. A DOB insider running RTÉ?

A reduced second round of interviews will be before an RTÉ Board sub-committee including Moya Doherty.

The Cush wrote: »

Others through to the next round of interviews Mary Curtis ex-UTV Ireland/RTÉ

The Cush wrote: »

Others through to the next round of interviews Mary Curtis ex-UTV Ireland/RTÉ and Steve Carson.[/url]

Following a rigorous recruitment process overseen by its Board, RTÉ has today appointed Dee Forbes as Director-General. This appointment is subject to the Government’s consent under Section 89 of the Broadcasting Act 2009.

Ms Forbes is currently President & Managing Director of Discovery Networks Northern Europe, and will leave the role to become Director General of Ireland’s National Public Service Media. Having joined Discovery in 2010 as Head of the UK/Ireland operation, Ms Forbes progressively grew her responsibilities to eventually lead the Northern Europe region, which also includes Benelux and the Nordic countries, and has a wide mix of channels, both free-to-air and subscription. Ms Forbes will assume her new role later this year after a transition period.

Moya Doherty, Chair of the Board, RTÉ, said: “The appointment of Dee Forbes stands to mark a significant moment in the development of RTÉ. Not only is this the first Director-General in almost fifty years to be appointed externally, but she will also be the first female to hold the role. RTÉ is at a pivotal moment, one where the future shape and financing of public service broadcasting is being re-imagined. I am delighted to have someone with such a breadth of industry experience, such a creative and visionary understanding of the global broadcasting market, and a proven management record.”

Ms Forbes said: “Although it was a tough professional decision to leave Discovery, the personal decision to return to Ireland and lead its biggest broadcaster, RTÉ, is an opportunity of a lifetime."

Before joining Discovery, Dee Forbes led Turner Broadcasting’s business in the UK and Ireland, which consisted of seven entertainment channels, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM. She spent several years working at Turner in a variety of commercial roles including General Manager for the Nordic/Central and Eastern Europe and EMA regions and Head of Advertising Sales for Europe.

RTÉ must negotiate with its new DG’s old employer if it wants to show Olympics

Although she has been in and out of Montrose for weeks, Dee Forbes officially started as director general of RTE today and has already set out her main aim – to future-proof the state broadcaster.

In an e-mail to staff, Forbes said she was “thrilled and excited” to be at RTE, adding that she planned to meet as many of them as a possible in the coming days and weeks as she gets to know more about them and the business.

“My visits in recent months have confirmed what I always believed – this is a very special place. RTÉ is a fantastic organisation with two great strengths: its enormously talented people and its unique place in Irish life,” she said.

In her most recent role, Forbes was president and managing director of Discovery Networks Northern Europe. There, she managed 27 TV brands in 18 markets, reaching more than 270 million households every month across Europe.

Before joining Discovery, Forbes led Turner Broadcasting’s business in Britain and Ireland, which consisted of seven entertainment channels, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM.

In the e-mail, she said: “My aim is to work with you to future-proof the organisation to cope with the changes our industry is facing whilst ensuring that RTÉ is a beacon of creativity at home and abroad.”

She said staff had much to be proud of, include the recent RTÉ Investigates programme on Console, trophies from the recent Justice Media Awards and New York Festivals, as well as RTÉ’s sports coverage of the Euros in France and the GAA Championship, children’s and Irish-language programmes, its orchestras, and generally the role played by RTÉ in the cultural life of the nation.

“As an Irishwoman who has spent 27 years back and forth to Ireland, RTÉ has been one of the great constants. In an ever-changing world, the role of RTÉ in Irish society is more important than ever. We cannot assume our place in people’s affections. It was won by you and the people who went before you and, in a very fragmented world, we have to keep earning that role,” she said.

The state broadcaster faces many challenges, she said, adding that public funding and legislative reform were of critical importance. Forbes will work with the RTÉ Executive and Board “to push for positive outcomes for RTÉ, the creative sector as a whole and most of all, our audiences”, she said.

As a dual-funded public service media, RTE has a huge opportunity to revolutionise how it distributes its programming and content, organises itself and generates the income necessary to develop and fund its public services, she said.

She said that she was “committed to giving everything to this important role as we begin a new chapter in the history of this extraordinary organisation and I look forward to meeting all of you and to working with you to shape our future.”

She also wished Glen Killane luck in his new role. Killane, the former managing director of RTÉ Television stepped down last week to join Eir sport.

Forbes is the first woman appointed as director general at RTÉ, and first external appointee at this level since businessman Kevin McCourt took the role in 1963.

http://www.businesspost.ie/new-dg-says-main-aim-to-future-proof-rte/

Elmo wrote: »

Bakhurst to OfCom.

The Cush wrote: »

Miriam O’Callaghan’s husband Steve Carson is being tipped to take over as managing director of RTE news and current affairs following the departure of Kevin Bakhurst

Three other senior vacancies at RTÉ -
- Managing Director of Television Glen Killane is moving to eir
- RTÉ2 Channel Controller Bill Malone is joining TV3
- Deputy MD of RTE News and Current Affairs Michael Good retired at the end of June

The Cush wrote: »

Announced today, he has been Managing Editor, International News, at ABC News in New York since March 2013, previously worked at the BBC and ITN. He takes up his position in the new year.

Kevin Bakhurst left RTE at the end of October and the position will be filled in the interim by Hilary McGouran, Managing Editor, Television News

http://www.rte.ie/about/en/press-office/press-releases/2016/1111/830860-jon-williams-announced-as-new-managing-director-rte-news-and-cur/