RTÉ News

Major problems with the sound desk at the six-one this evening - the RTÉ One ident abruptly cut to a blank holding caption where the CA apologised for the disruption to programming. At around 6:10, the programme came on air with the studio microphones a little faded - VT audio was playing out normally. None of the headline recaps were accompanied by VT, the audio for the stings coming out of the breaks failed - on one occasion the gallery audio was mixed in along with a loud sharp noise. All fun and games

Morning schedule thrown out the window as Bertie announces he's stepping down

Yep, major changes to the RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 schedules because of the Taoiseach's resignation:

News Special which ran all morning
Second News Special currently airing.
Extended Six-One - will run for 1 hour 30 mins.
Extended Nine - running 40 minutes.
Prime Time Special - following Nine and running for 40 minutes.

Radio 1 mainly running news today also although Derek Mooney did manage to get a short slot for his show.

TV3 ran a 30 minute special at 12 noon with News at 5:30 getting a 1 hour slot, bumping Xpose for today.

TG4 also running some special programmes.

I notice BBC Parliament has been running messages on-screen pointing viewers to their website to watch Ahern's address to the House of Representatives... do they always cover the Irish parliament like this, or is it just for today?

Bozz

Any thoughts on the purple lighting used for the background for the RTÉ news specials? Reminded me of the 2001 look, first time I'd seen that colour scheme used and it was a welcome relief from the brown I reckoned...

Joe Duffy was completely about Bertie Ahern. TV3 as far as I know did not broadcast the speech itself, instead stuck with Jeremy Kyle. Who did their 12 bulletin?

Also what did RTE morning coverage begin at and can anyone find it online?

TV3: One of the female presenters, I'm almost certain it was Colette Fitzpatrick but can't remember, I only had it on for a few minutes.

RTÉ's morning coverage started I believe sometime between 9-10am and lasted right until the One. Doesn't seem to be online in full any more, but catch what you can of it here: http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0402/ahernb.html

TV3 Nightly News had an hour-long slot devoted to Bertie. VB even got to sit at the desk this time!

Stories in the weekend newspapers report that intense negotiations are currently taking place between RTE management and trade unions with relation to establishing a Breakfast news programme. The progamme aims to provide a more formal news programme then compared to TV3's breakfast programme style ala a TV version of RTE radio 1's Morning Ireland. The obvious obstacle is rota staffing issues. The interesting development is the news programme will not be broadcast from news HQ in Montrose but from its Cork Studios. It has emerged according to the story that increasing number of staff have been relocating from Dublin to Cork, i.e producers and other backroom staff this is probably to do with increasing its obligations to programming from the regions. The programme will likely start early next year and in terms of knowing the presenter line-up and programming stucture, very little will be known unless the programme get the green light. Though in today's Irish Daily Mail Six- One's Sharon Ní Bheolain, Grainne Seoighe ( if enticed back into news programming from her daily chatshow) and Nuacht's Siún Níc Gearailt are some of the names thought to be considered as strong contenders for the morning show, but time will tell!
Interesting to see what type of news studio facilities they wouldhave to implemented in broadcasting the programme from Cork. As far as i can recall RTE Cork's facilities has produced very little studio based programme aside from the early days of news magazine programme Nationwide(when it was studio based), Children's saturday show Satitude and the now defunct late night music show No Disco

On a side note it was reported earlier in the year Nuacht RTE is to completely relocated to Baile Na habhann in Galway by the end of this year from Dublin.

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but my other half is watching Waking the Dead on BBC ONE, and they had a reconstruction of an RTE News bulletin a few minutes ago - only graphics though with I assume an actor's voice instead of one of the regular anchors/reporters, but it looked identical, or if not, very close, to the current RTE look, even had the RTE logo and everything!

Then again, we all know RTE News often find "inspiration" in what the BBC do at the time, so I reckon if RTE didn't do a special package for the BBC, it would be dead easy for the graphics department to mock up the RTE News graphics...

Which begs the question - I know Ofcom are strict in the UK about when fictional works on TV/film do news bulletins that they can be viewed as part of the fiction rather than an actual news bulletin, but does this also apply to news content from TV channels based outside the UK?

I can see Seoige on a Breakfast show. Siun as well. I think Sharon should stay where she is.

From Cork! No wonder there are so many issues and delays with the setup of this thing if they're attempting to decentralise what sounds like is going to be a big chunk of a programme.



Now that passed me by as well, and that is interesting, because as that's probably going to be within TG4's HQ and TG4 is technically now an independent corporation (albeit, one that still receives its public funding via RTE... I think...) I wonder how this is being set up in terms of budgets, contracting, supply etc.

Reports in one of today's newspaper that Grainne Seoighe is one of the key people to head up RTE's new breakfast show, according to insiders. It goes on to say there will be other 'heavy hitting' names bought on board for the programme that will have a more harder news driven agenda compared to TV3's breakfast show