RTÉ HAS ENDED its relationship with Ryan Tubridy, who has for the last few months been embroiled in a scandal over an understatement of earnings and controversial contracts.
Tubridy, who was previously the organisation’s highest earner, was due to return to his morning radio show in September for a salary of €170,000.
That was until yesterday, when RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst said that trust had “broken down” during negotiations.
He claimed that Tubridy’s recent statement “made without consultation” was the clincher.
The comments, Bakhurst said, seemed to “question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021″.
The fact remains that there is a slot to be filled and questions to be answered. So what’s next for Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ?
What will Tubridy do now?
With years of experience under his belt and no desire for an early retirement, will Tubridy seek refuge in other stations at home or abroad?
We don’t yet know whether the offers will come rolling in, and it’s likely that the reputational damage that has occurred in the last few months will impact his ability to move on professionally.
Bakhurst said: “I hope for him there is demand because he’s a talented guy – he’s got a mortgage to pay.”
The director-general added that the “door is not closed forever”, although on Morning Ireland today he also said that the possibility of legal action being taken on Tubridy’s part remained.
“There’s always that danger. I did consult with our legal team and we took outside advice as well. And I hope it doesn’t, you know, I don’t think it will be a good thing for anybody. But clearly it was there’s always a risk,” he said.
Public Accounts Committee
RTÉ may have closed the door in Tubridy for now, but some questions around both parties’ roles in the scandal remain.
The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that questioned Tubridy and others last month may reconvene before the Dáil returns this autumn if witnesses pertaining to the scandal become available.
Former director-general Dee Forbes and former head of content Jim Jennings have yet to appear before any Oireachtas committees.
Forbes has since left the organisation and Jennings was on sick leave at the time of the last committee sittings.
The New RTÉ
After Forbes’ resignation, Bakhurst took on the top job, inheriting a number of significant challenges.
Some members of the public have rebelled against TV licencing laws in response to the scandal deemed a “breach of trust”.
Reports suggest there was a €900,000 drop in revenue from licence fees in the first week of August compared with 2022.
With 85% of revenue from the scheme going to RTÉ, Bakhurst has more than one reason to rehabilitate the public broadcaster’s reputation.
“€160 is not an inconsiderable sum to many people and I fully understand it,” he said.
“I hope to convince those people who haven’t paid it that they still get real value from RTÉ, that we’re doing everything we can to change the organisation, to rebuild that trust with them, and hopefully in due course they’ll change their minds.”
It is certain that whoever fills Tubridy’s shoes will be compensated very differently for their work.
Bakhurst said Tubridy’s planned fee reduction, which was to be included in the mooted September comeback, is part of a wider strategy to lower the amount paid to presenters when their contracts come up for renegotiation.
At the height of the scandal and calls for greater transparency, several RTÉ personalities, such as Claire Byrne and Joe Duffy, stated their salaries on air.
Barkhurst assured that contracts, including perks such as car allowances, will not be changed “at a whim”.
“Many people who would have made the decision to come here as part of the contract they were offered,” he said.
“People have the right when they sign terms and conditions to expect that that’s not going to be undone at a whim.”
When Tubridy was brought off the airwaves in June, so began a game of musical chairs.
Among his substitutes keeping the show on the road – and on air – was Oliver Callan. The comedian and satirist may be top of the list of potential replacements.
Brendan Courtney, who is presenting the show this week, previously helmed The Brendan Courtney Show on TV3. Both Callan and Courtney have assumed the easy-going tone that the show had under Tubridy, combining light stories and interviews with an informal overview of the day’s news.
Morrissey, who presented the August Bank Holiday show, is a popular RTÉ presenter, with experience in both current affairs and light entertainment – he played the Magic Mirror by way of voice recordings in a pantomime production of Snow White last year.
He previously hosted The Marty Squad, a GAA analysis show, on RTÉ Radio One.
He was, however, also wrapped up in the RTÉ payments scandal after it emerged that he had received a loaned car from Renault for five years.
Rachael English is one of the presenters of Morning Ireland. She has also written six novels.
Anton Savage is another seasoned broadcaster and journalist, with a Saturday morning show on Newstalk and a column in the Business Post (where, it’s worth pointing out, he recently discussed the issue of RTÉ presenters’ pay).
A prime slot every weekday morning should be highly sought after.
However, the selection process may mimic Tubridy’s departure from The Late Late Show earlier this year, where several experienced presenters who were asked to take over the job ruled themselves out before a replacement was found in Patrick Kielty.
Perhaps Kielty is looking for another new RTÉ role.
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