RTE's Golden Parachutes
and Friends gone too soon...
I’m no crisis management expert, but I think when your own organisation has to post a news article titled “RTE Crisis – how will it end?”, you can be pretty sure that things aren’t going great.
Between that and the many, many, many articles about “Golden Parachutes”, suddenly Kevin Bakhurst’s status as a “new broom” come to sweep clean the corridors of RTE, starts to look shaky at best.
To be brutally frank, it doesn’t appear as if the previous DG did a particularly good job at managing a complex legacy organisation, but it would be tremendously helpful if she would turn up to answer questions about what she did and why she did it.
Unfortunately, she is ill, and is happy to provide medical evidence of her illness if required.
She’s not the only one declining invitations to answer questions either. And we (the public and the rest of the media) are left trying to assemble one of those blue sky jigsaws without the picture on the box.
Golden Parachutes
Can we take a moment to talk about the whole concept of “Golden Parachutes”?
Firstly, it’s a ludicrous idea for a semi state body to be offering any form of bulk payout, when it’s a public service focused entity, part funded by licence fee.
When the salary levels are as high, or higher than similar roles in the private sector, I really can’t see any justification for giving any highly paid public sector employee a payoff, particularly if they will easily find a replacement job in the private sector.
The notion that key management in RTE received a full years salary, or what looks like multiple years salary for roles that were either not then made redundant, or that would justify dismissal based on performance is genuinely disgraceful.
Remember this is an organisation that had been losing money, that gambled on an expansion into a new arena (musical theatre / live performance), with very little expertise and no sense of prudent planning.
The more stories I hear about how RTE’s Toy Show: The Musical was set up and managed, the more I wonder why the entire RTE Board haven’t been dismissed.
To let something that was so clearly never going to work, continue to it’s inevitable death, while running up losses of over 2 million euros is just mind boggling.
To find out that over the past four years, the RTE Board appears to have agreed payouts for almost the same amount to senior executives, is almost worse.
Time to get a Grip
The new Director General has a very limited window to get a grip on an organisation that is clearly far adrift from where it should be. He needs to be crystal clear with the public and with the Oireachtas about who got paid what and why. And he needs to get a move on with his restructure and plan to bring the RTE finances back to rude health.
I can’t help but wonder what colour Kevin Bakhurst’s own parachute is.
Gone too Soon
The death of Steve Wright made me quite sad this week. Not because I knew him personally, but because of the passing of what was clearly one of the great music radio talents.
Mentally, I keep a list of the great presenters I’ve known who have passed, and it’s too long. I suppose as I age, so do they, but many of them seem to have died far too young.
In my personal list, Tony Fenton, Uaneen Fitzsimons, and Gerry Ryan stand out immediately, but there are many other names that are gone from the airwaves too soon.
It started me thinking about what makes great talent, and why they are different from their peers.
In my time in radio, I’ve been fortunate to work with amazing presenters and teams in the UK and in Ireland, and also across other markets in Europe and the Middle East. And what that has taught me is that there are a special category of talents, that are just different to the rest of us.
A Special Something
There’s something electric, something different, or almost magical when they put the headphones on and start talking. I’ve been trying to find a way to describe it properly, but it’s hard to put your finger on.
I know it when I hear it, I can still remember standing in my kitchen in my first proper flat, listening to Uaneen Fitzsimons on RTE 2FM, late at night, and just loving the way she spoke about music and the quiet passion she had for radio and the chance to bring new music to an audience who’d never heard of the artist.
She was an extraordinary person too, warm and generous, and it still hurts that she died in a car crash, almost 25 years ago.
Gerry Ryan
Gerry Ryan was another remarkable character, someone I’d listened to as teenager, utterly mystified by the bizarre dramatic sketches that he used to do on his show – there was a whole extended piece where he was the captain of a submarine, which seems mad even to write. He just had this ability to bend and shape audio into what suited him, and when I started work in 2FM, I had no idea how I was supposed to manage or even support someone like that.
But, he was equally generous and engaging in person, and some of my favourite memories from 2FM were of producing his radio show, as holiday cover initially. It really felt like taking the wheel of a massive ocean liner, while the captain stood proudly on the bridge. I learnt so much from watching his performance in the studio, like a conductor, coaxing every last note from the audience to make radio a wonderful and capitating experience.
The Fentone
Tony Fenton was another larger than life figure, and he burned with a passion for music and for radio, that was pretty much unmatched. Again, he was someone who came to life once he put the headphones on, and his passion and energy connected with audiences on a special level.
Those three people stand out for me, as I was fortunate enough to work with them, and still miss them to this day. But I think it’s important to celebrate the talent we have now, and to give them the space to be themselves and unlock that passion they have for radio.
The irony of this week’s newsletter is that much as I’ve criticised RTE, I have a lot of affection for the institution and the three presenters I’ve mentioned above, are all RTE broadcasters, who made a lasting impact because of the platform afforded to them by the State Broadcaster.
The Mash Machine
Oh and before I sign off, I have to tip the hat to Galway Bay FM, who’ve been engaged in a very entertaining piss take of Bauer’s Cash Machine.
They’ve created a pitch perfect version of it for the Galway Market, except instead of bags of cash, you win bags of spuds…
Have a look at their Instagram
This has been the 34th official edition of the RAudio Newsletter.
Apart from writing newsletters, I also consult to radio stations and podcasts, so if you have a question, or a project you need help on, drop me an email – liamathompson@gmail.com
I’m also attending RadioDays in Munich, so let me know if you’re going and we can catch up.
You can also send feedback, questions or potential topics – you can also get me on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamthompsonconsulting/ or on Twitter @Maxliam