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Given @rte’s behaviour last night, one has to ask what’s the role of a publicly-funded broadcaster? In RTE’s case, one that has an animus against the deeply-held faith of a large percentage of those who fund it. Should they be asked to fund an organisation that mocks their faith?
Free speech is important, & making religions the subject of comedy falls into that, as long as all religions are treated equally. However, if one religion is mocked/attacked more than others with a distinct hatred about it, the members of that religion shouldn’t be forced to pay-
-for it. Some may want to do so, others may not. Given how broadcasting is changing, it may be time for @rte to become a subscription service, so those who want it or share its political viewpoint can support it & those who don’t can avail of other services. Turning the -
- obligatory licence fee into a broadcasting tax shouldn’t be an option. Government should not fund media. Quite apart from it being partisan, it favours one brand of media over another. Let @rte, @IrishTimes and others support themselves. Citizens have enough taxes to pay.
-Some may say that a publicly funded @rte guarantees at least one objective public service media platform. In theory, that might be considered laudable, but in practice that’s not the case, as we see in RTE whose broadcasting has become distinctly partisan & biased.
A distinct problem we have in little Ireland is that, not only are those in politics & media from the same elite, they are usually related to each other: one sibling in politics, the other in media. This creates a bubble but also mitigates against proper regulation & oversight.
