The Weekend On One With Brendan O'Connor

Quiet round here these days

Brendan made his first mistake today just after 2 minutes. He misread a headline in the Sunday Business Post, Australian instead of Austrian. Yesterday early on he mispronounced Cymru.

You're getting enraged with the wrong target.

It's not the programme, it's RTE policy.

RTE have adopted this policy to ensure compliance with the Fairness, Objectivity, and Impartiality guidelines put in place by the media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán.

When a radio programme mentions a single political candidate during an election period, presenters refer listeners to a complete list of candidates to ensure editorial balance and avoid showing undue favour to one person.

You're right, it's not as if it might swing the election but it helps to avoid accusations of bias.

Coimisiun_na_Mean_Broadcast_Guidelines_Nov2024.pdf https://share.google/eN8ult55AsG0DClii

Are you complaining about a presenter following the instructions of his employer?

I reckon that Fairness, Objectivity, and Impartiality are pretty good things to be aiming for in broadcasting.

If it takes following procedure to achieve them then I think it's worth the effort.

RTE have to be very careful, politicians are looking the get any advantage they can, and a complaint against RTE wouldn't do their cause any harm. I have heard RTE using the guidelines on many different programmes, not just O'Connor. The BBC are the same, below is a small extract from a 26 page guideline document for election coverage in 2026. Boring stuff, but necessary.

"Candidates or parties who have not demonstrated that they have substantial electoral support in that area must still be offered proportionate coverage. How that is achieved will be a matter for editorial judgment, but the following should be regarded as a minimum: Any reports, items, (including online), programmes (such as debates) or any other content which refer to only some of the candidates in an electoral area (or areas) should include, in sound and/or vision, a list of all candidates standing and their party (where applicable), or, as a minimum, should refer to an online list of all candidates and parties standing if and when available. If such a report is being broadcast several times on the same channel or station, a list of candidates and parties should be referred to on each occasion."

I'm sure Brendan's extreme diligence in following the guidelines is partially down to the time RTE got burnt when Rory O'Neil alleged that certain individuals and institutions were homophobic on Brendan's chat show.

I know the guidelines are there and I understand why, but he really does seem highly attuned and more highly geared than anyone else I hear on the radio to stepping at the even slightest mere hint of anything being said, even to the point where it becomes comical and borderline illogical.