RTÉ News

well before i even started on this i had the idea of the dail chamber as a grpahics studio, with the seats always chaning colour, and using a minitute dail as a swingomiter, its pretty interesting to think up these ideas as RTE never did graphics for elections IIRC

humm i actually am getting pretty peeved off with the studio at times, as it isnt looking great! i dont want to have a dail chamber the whole way around the studio although i should try it out, then there is wood which i tried but i dont like it too much!

im goin to try and make another studio like this, taking some of these (ie. the desk which i like, and the floor!

You're gonna need two desks suitable for round-table conversation though - as well as a newswall area as you say.

The set must also look impressive on a wide - you don't get to kick the Late Late off a Friday night for nothing you know - you must take full advantage of the largest studio in Montrose (even if it ain't that big by international standards)

It's a pity the RTÉ Facilities website is still off-line; it's been 'under construction' for at least two years at this stage

The BBC's is fantastic!

http://www.bbcresources.com/studios/index.html

well as u see with the desks i have 3 there, the middle is presenter, left is expert and right is guests which wil change over the night. im just getting an idea of something with those desks, ill try that out in the morning.

i am just makin this studio like crazy, just not thinkin of rte's spefications (sp?), but it can easily be reduced!

As long as guests can be shunted off out of shot, a large segmented desk like yours should work - though entirely different areas of the studio do tend to work better, so that for example we don't cut to the presenter while the old guests are being pulled off, and then we cut back again to see two new guests as if by magic!

Having different areas tends makes more sense in the mind of the viewer, and offers greater flexibility to the programme and director.

Thanks for the TG4 info

Well today marked the start of the "chop" for the summer (although like last year I would say it will only be four weeks) , with Six-One running for only 30 minutes (in fact they didn't even bill it as Six-One, but just used the generic titles).

This year though, the One has managed to survive intact (instead of becoming a 5 minute summary like in previous years) So the summer news slash seems to be eroding again.

Yes I noticed that about the One - things are looking up!

Though most of the correspondents are on holiday at the minute, leaving the crappy 'whash, rigsh, laysher' inexperienced reporters behind to fill their shoes

And I know they're definitely on holiday cause I passed Paul Cuningham Environment Editor in the far flung reaches of West Cork the other day while I was down there! There's a very strange thing going on with him as I constantly meet him everywhere about Dublin, it's getting scary! Bumping into him in Cork was just too spooky...

One thing RTÉ have to get sorted about their summer scheduling is the newscaster rota for Six One.
Once Bryan and/or Una disappear, the most bizarre pairings are thrown together for Six One - at times bordering on the ridiculous with the likes of Anne Doyle and Eileen Dunne which I've seen on ocassion. I mean two middle-aged women presenting the main evening news?!

And other unworkable concoctions are also used (including anything with MacGrianna which just by definition falls flat on its face )

Single-gender bulletins are a complete no no in my opinion, especially women who tend to be that bit worse than male pairings - not that the Dobson-Finnerty combo is exactly made in heaven either

A regular, workable and familar pairing ought to be established for the times that Bryan and Una aren't there, instead of all the ridiculous chopping and changing.

Well it works in Australia.
Channel 9 Perth (not owned by Kerry Packer) has Dixie Marshall and Sonia Vinci, heading the Weekday 6pm bulletin.
And Channel 9 Adelaide (also not owned by Kerry Packer) has Kevin Crease and Rob Kelvin heading the Weekday 6pm bulletin.

Agreed - why can't RTÉ have agreed substitute presenters for each bulitten (I know News on 2 has Anthony Murnane, but still), with the substitutes agreeing not to take holidays at the same time as the main presenters.

They could try to tempt Eammon Lawlor to come back to News and Current Affairs, he was rather good in his day. (But he would probably have to be given the Six-One job back permanently. What to do with Dobson then? Dual-anchor the Nine?) Sharon Ni Bheolan is good on News on 2, and she's done the Six-One before so she could be a good sub presenter.

Cough...cough...cough... Glad to see the dust blown off this thread. It's been gathering for quite some time!



I really must disagree here. I think Sharon is one of the best female newsreaders that RTÉ have alongside Una and maybe Anne or Eileen D. She's so competent and I have never seen her make a mistake. She is very professional and very good at delivering the news without over-emphasising etc. She should have a permanent place on the One or Nine news. Come to think of it, maybe even on the Six because she worked very well with Brian there for the while that she was on it. But as people say, newsreader preferences vary a lot depending on the individual.

i must admit i agree with what you are saying, she suits the 6.1 alot, with Bryan. eileen dunne is kinda bland at times i think, anne is great i think, angeus is erm bad, as is john finnerty!

As much as it pains to say it, I'd have to agree about Finnerty - he's not great. I like him as a person (not that I know him or anything ) and he's a familiar face etc, but he's not the best in the world is he?
And I was surprised at how ignorant he came across at times during the London coverage, constantly cutting across contributors to make a point or ask another question - suppose he was under pressure but it did him no favours. Even when guests kept talking after he interjected, he kept talking too, forcing them to stop!

And on regular bulletins, what's with the whole shouty jumpy thing he does?! Fun all the same


Still not sure about Ní Bheoláin - agreed she was very good on Six One, and complemented Bryan well, the thing is she's very different on News Two. She's very shouty and too earnest.
But as said before, her questioning is the worst. She reads script straight off her page at times, but the fatal flaw in a newsreader is that she thinks she's great at fooling the audience that she knows what she's talking about - she speeds up her speech and adds ridiculous inflections to her voice to try and sound off-the-cuff and spontaneous.
She isn't.

Agreed she did much better in Six One, and can be good at times on News 2, but the odd poor interview really lets her down.
That gratiness in her voice comes and goes also - like she needs a good cough to clear it all out , but when that frog isn't present I agree that she's rather good.
Similar to Murnane, she's much better on mainstream bulletins on One - nice pace, pronunciation and delivery to camera. Appealing neutral accent too, and the Gaeilge is always helpful too


Great idea rdd about Eamonn Lawlor - what a loss to the station he was. Complete waste of talent spinning a few musty discs over on Lyric .
Come back, we need you!