Dee Forbes banging the RTE TV licence drum again 60m uncollected fee *poll not working - pl ignore*

I don't use the RTE website much but prompted by this discussion I had a look.

Works ok on my laptop and tablet. Didn't try on a phone yet.

Seems to do all I imagine the average user might need.

I like the bright clear home page and had no trouble navigating to different sections.

I don't like RTE. In fact I really don't like RTE.

That said I think the website is an improvement in format on the previous one. By that I mean it's an improvement on the layout and presentation.

If only they would cut out the needless and frequent "opinion" pieces with the usual lefty politics such as feminism, LGBT, climate change, BLM/race-issues etc. RTE will only ever promote one side of the narrative on these issues, and no prizes for guessing which sides. As a final cherry on top there's the usual shoe-horn and promotion of any story remotely anti-Trump. RTE is essentially an Irish CNN.

Don't believe me? I've decided to now check the website and pick out stories that fit into the above:

Johnson fails to win over Tory critics of Brexit bill (Brexit)
Brexit: Boris Johnson, state aid and a 'rushed' treaty (Analysis And Comment)
3 hidden plastics in your home - and how to replace them (Living)
Throwing the Book at Trump
The women who make your safety their business

elperello wrote: »

I was just trying it out to see how it would work on my laptop and tablet prompted by the complaints above.

I didn't really review the content although in general I do trust RTE as a news source.

I'll have another look at the content and get back to you.

You really, really love RTE. I cannot say I know many in real-life who share your admiration for this outdated organisation. The two main bugbears I have with them are (a) astronomical salaries out of the public purse for very average presenters, some of whom seem to be there through family connections and (b) left-wing slants on every internationalist topic, from Brexit to Trump to the Middle East, with more government-leaning biases when it comes to Ireland, with a hint of left wing social policy thrown in for good measure. Surely you cannot deny the existence of the above?

DrSerious3 wrote: »

You really, really love RTE. I cannot say I know many in real-life who share your admiration for this outdated organisation. The two main bugbears I have with them are (a) astronomical salaries out of the public purse for very average presenters, some of whom seem to be there through family connections and (b) left-wing slants on every internationalist topic, from Brexit to Trump to the Middle East, with more government-leaning biases when it comes to Ireland, with a hint of left wing social policy thrown in for good measure. Surely you cannot deny the existence of the above?

Gen.Zhukov wrote: »

.

Very funny

While you are there, what do you think about the new website?

ligerdub wrote: »

I don't like RTE. In fact I really don't like RTE.

That said I think the website is an improvement in format on the previous one. By that I mean it's an improvement on the layout and presentation.

If only they would cut out the needless and frequent "opinion" pieces with the usual lefty politics such as feminism, LGBT, climate change, BLM/race-issues etc. RTE will only ever promote one side of the narrative on these issues, and no prizes for guessing which sides. As a final cherry on top there's the usual shoe-horn and promotion of any story remotely anti-Trump. RTE is essentially an Irish CNN.

Don't believe me? I've decided to now check the website and pick out stories that fit into the above:

Johnson fails to win over Tory critics of Brexit bill (Brexit)
Brexit: Boris Johnson, state aid and a 'rushed' treaty (Analysis And Comment)
3 hidden plastics in your home - and how to replace them (Living)
Throwing the Book at Trump
The women who make your safety their business

if they are "promoting" one side of something, it is because there is no other side to "promote" given one side is factual and the other not, and it is their job to promote the facts and not to be a propaganda machine.

DrSerious3 wrote: »

You really, really love RTE. I cannot say I know many in real-life who share your admiration for this outdated organisation. The two main bugbears I have with them are (a) astronomical salaries out of the public purse for very average presenters, some of whom seem to be there through family connections and (b) left-wing slants on every internationalist topic, from Brexit to Trump to the Middle East, with more government-leaning biases when it comes to Ireland, with a hint of left wing social policy thrown in for good measure. Surely you cannot deny the existence of the above?

the second one can be denied because it's not the case.
the first one, unfortunately that is just the media market, where in the odd case some broadcasters think their talent is worth paying a high salary to when in the opinion of others they are talentless. there isn't anything that can be done about that for now.

ligerdub wrote: »

I don't like RTE. In fact I really don't like RTE.

That said I think the website is an improvement in format on the previous one. By that I mean it's an improvement on the layout and presentation.

If only they would cut out the needless and frequent "opinion" pieces with the usual lefty politics such as feminism, LGBT, climate change, BLM/race-issues etc. RTE will only ever promote one side of the narrative on these issues, and no prizes for guessing which sides. As a final cherry on top there's the usual shoe-horn and promotion of any story remotely anti-Trump. RTE is essentially an Irish CNN.

Don't believe me? I've decided to now check the website and pick out stories that fit into the above:

Johnson fails to win over Tory critics of Brexit bill (Brexit)
Brexit: Boris Johnson, state aid and a 'rushed' treaty (Analysis And Comment)
3 hidden plastics in your home - and how to replace them (Living)
Throwing the Book at Trump
The women who make your safety their business

It's just taking the lead from the BBC which perpetually has sop pieces about how a transwoman of colour invented oxygen and defeated Hitler.

Smiles35 wrote: »

Newstalk needs to be subsidised. The state should buy it. It could be a great Dublin station. Right now all that station is doing is pandering to people who bet on football on their phone, while they wait for add revenue from bookies.

Why would you make it a Dublin only station? What would be the commercial incentive to take it away from 25 counties?

I think NT is going through a bit of an identity crisis. Ger Gilroy has been very entrepreneurial in making OTB a stand-alone entity and outsourcing the sports of all the other DOB stations, along with some others possibly, but NT has become so sports dominated, for most people who work 9-6 5 days a week, it’s almost impossible almost impossible to hear actual news or current affairs outside of breakfast.

The predominance of advertising is probably a necessity driven by the unreasonable level of support they compete with at RTÉ, but the gambling ads in particular feel tone deaf to me. OTB have been quite open talking about difficult issues previously which includes gambling issues, and the repeated ramming down your throats I’d ladbrokes or whoever it is is obnoxious. The other one which grated on me as a rugby fan is/was the non stop “everyone in, team of us” absolute claptrap every 30 seconds during rugby coverage. I’m not quite at the Ewan McKenna end of things, and as much as I’m a massive rugby fan, it’ll never really be a team of us to a huge amount of the country, no matter how much a mobile phone company ram it down our throats

elperello wrote: »

While you are there, what do you think about the new website?

I don't like it. It looks like a www.msn.com of old. It's too busy, the old one was way better, cleaner and simple. It seems like as step backwards.

Smiles35 wrote: »

It's more than 250 they have. I had an idea for a tv show so I went looking for someone to talk to there (Useing the website ). Page after page of managers of different sections of programing.

I have no really problem with a number of managers looking after different Genres, however when you cut funding to independent productions you should also be cutting down on the number of commissioning editors, your talking about Heads of Genres with vastly reduced budgets with the same wage and with the same number of people on their team. I wouldn't be surprised if the Head of Children's and her two staff members were earning €300,000 in total, 10% of their budget, the same wages that they possible got when their budgets were a lot more substantial. In 2016 RTÉ decided to put Children's content commissions on hold for six months what exactly did those managers do during those six months?

Along with people praising them for quickly getting home school hub up and running, they should be doing this kind of thing anyway, or at least prepared to move content producers to the home school hub, but when you have none you have to scramble and in that scramble you get praised?

I'd love to know what the Head of Drama does, has he had meetings with any script writers and producers over the last six months, in perpetration for when productions can get back up and running, is he developing anything. His appointment seem to come from the fact that he was an executive producer on Agatha Raisin! Okay its because of his association with Acorn TV, who's list of shows are mediocre at best.

Smiles35 wrote: »

It's probably all Fair City for him . Perhaps some scouting for writers. The others would have their hands out for good ideas.

Fair City has an executive producer, she is largely the head of Fair City he may have some oversight but she's been the main person on Fair City for years, I think only his predecessor start to be involved in Fair City when it became Group head of Drama.

Perhaps he is scouting for writers and developing new Drama projects for the next few years. But some how I think COVID will be blamed once production starts again.

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

If the South Westerlies program is the best RTE can do with their scouting... they need to fire that talent scout.

One episode was all it took to realise that this is woeful.

RTÉ are only interested in co-pros & BBC commissioned scripted drama.

It took them a year to get funding for Finding Joy 2 because the BAI pulled their funding for a second series... that came from Acorn and their head of Drama was ....

Elmo wrote: »

RTÉ are only interested in co-pros & BBC commissioned scripted drama.

It took them a year to get funding for Finding Joy 2 because the BAI pulled their funding for a second series... that came from Acorn and their head of Drama was ....

Ah, had a google...

Was hoping that should would never appear. Huberman's currently expecting sprog number 3, so the show might be delayed.

I know they're only interested in co-productions, and try and make stuff for cheap. But why the hell did they fail to even try with South Westerlies? I have a feeling they're pushing for a Season 2 as well.
Fat chance. Show is being promoted as set in Cork, but then the interviews on the making of the show are up on the Wicklow Tourism youtube channel.

McGaggs wrote: »

Filmed in Wicklow I believe. Why did they need to have it set in Cork?

Yep- Wicklow doubled for Cork, I think Dublin also, and Norway. (As that Irish actresses horrible Norwegian accent would prove. In a show of bad accents, and bad characters, she stood out).

EmptyTree wrote: »

It works. I'm not disputing that (although I can see some posters seem to be having issues). But I think we should have aspersions beyond "it works". My biggest gripe is that the news page looks like it's full of cheap clickbait. This is a time we need to have trust in our news sources, it doesn't need subliminal doubt cast on it.

elperello wrote: »

I was just trying it out to see how it would work on my laptop and tablet prompted by the complaints above.

I didn't really review the content although in general I do trust RTE as a news source.

I'll have another look at the content and get back to you.

Sorry for the delay replying.

I had another look concentrating on the content this time.

I didn't see anything I would describe as "cheap clickbait".

I saw stuff I wouldn't be interested in and would never click on but that's par for the course on any such website.

I suppose the show biz stuff is there because people like it.

As I said in the other post I trust RTE as a news source and I didn't see anything in the website that would cause me to doubt it.

Link to website - https://www.rte.ie/

fritzelly wrote: »

If you look at a lot of the cheap tacky news sites - what look like news articles are actually spammy off site links - that is what the new site looks like

Being a bit of a web developer myself the whole front page looks like a link spamming site - the eye is not drawn to anything, nothing is easy to read (using bold font on everything)
There is over 50 picture and short text links to articles and nothing else on the page

I could put something better together in a few hours

I agree, most of the links, beyond the first few rows, look like adds. I wouldn't even read the headline, nevermind click the link.