RTE do not seem to use the Single operated studio anymore for their short news bulletins like
the weekend lunchtime bulletins. They all come from the main news studio 3. That has
to be a welcome development as the SORC studio give a lot of technical problems, particularly with
live OBs and misaligned graphics
This is the last week of RTE showing The Bill repeats after many years on RTE. A 1 and 3/4 hour episode of The Afternoon show will take its place. Sad day for Irish bill fans
Over on TV3, Nightly News with Vincent Browne will be sponsored by the Bank of Scotland from next week. As news and current affairs can't be sponsored, TV3 have been forced to employ the device of changing the title sequence to remove all mention of TV3 News and rename the programme "Tonight with Vincent Browne". They've also given an undertaking to the BCI that it will be an "entertainment/lifestyle" programme - this is the equivilant to saying that Jeremy Paxman will present a light entertainment programme and I don't see it being anything other than current affairs.
Keeping up appearances, there will still be a TV3 Nightly News, but it'll run for only 5 minutes right before Vincent Browne.
They used to happen fairly regularly, but tonight there was a rare enough gaffe with the headline package, which stopped once it hit the second VT. Unlike the mess-ups of previous years, where presenters seemingly wouldn't know what to do, this error passed off pretty well I thought and Sharon and Bryan looked unphased by it all.
Was watching the One today (I'm usually don't get the chance to watch it) and was pleasantly surprised to see a dedicated business section with a nice ticker too...not sure how long they've been doing that but it looks good. Lovely smooth closing shot from the robot too with the the studio looking very well behind Una. It really is amazing how much RTÉ have improved the whole news presentation over the last year or so. Cock-ups are actually rare now! Hopefully it'll last for a long time.
RTE do not seem to use the Single operated studio anymore for their short news bulletins like the weekend lunchtime bulletins.
They still have a chromakey set for short bulletins. The 'News Extra' programme following 'The Late Late Show' uses this smaller set. However, I'm not sure what gallery is being used for these bulletins. The old 'single-operator' set-up (which also used a small chromakey studio) didn't have the ability to use the standard (animating) astons. However, in recent months the chromakey bulletins have been using the Studio 3-style astons. Also, the single-operator equipment always produced a large black horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen; that seems to have been eradicated. So, for these chromakey bulletins, either the single-operator gallery has been re-equipped, or they're using the Studio 3 gallery. Either way, the results are a big improvement.
Unfortunately, the early-morning and late-night summaries are still being broadcast from a broom cupboard studio in RTE's Pres dept. These bulletins are presenter-to-camera only: no reports, no astons. The background is simply a printed version of the newsroom imagery used for the screens in Studio 3.
Interesting set-up for the Referendum coverage today. Studio 3 is being used. Last year, I think they used Studio 4. However, at the top of the programme, an unusual high shot of the studio is being shown (it also appears occasionally during the programme). The camera is positioned to the left of the set. In shot we see the desk and screens on the left. On the right-hand-side of the screen we see some studio cameras, and what appears to be more Barco screens behind the cameras. However, I'm certain that these extra screens have been added to the shot electronically. They look like mirror images of the screens used on the other side. There's no evidence of any new parts of the set being used during the programme. Just in front of the cameras, there's a 'Referendum 2009' logo on the floor. That also seems to have been added electronically - the black floor looked way too good. Not a scratch on it.
RTE's current Europe Editor Sean Whelan is to become the station's new economics correspondent, the position that was vacated by George Lee who went into politics. Speculation in the papers suggests that sean will not be replaced in Europe due to the current financial constraints at the station, supposing Tony Connelly will man the fort in Europe for RTE.
RTE's current Europe Editor Sean Whelan is to become the station's new economics correspondent, the position that was vacated by George Lee who went into politics. Speculation in the papers suggests that sean will not be replaced in Europe due to the current financial constraints at the station, supposing Tony Connelly will man the fort in Europe for RTE.
Good - absolutely no need for two Europe correspondents.
RTE's business staff is certainly expanding - I thought Robert Short was meant to be George Lee's successor. Will he remain in his position as business correspondent?
Good - absolutely no need for two Europe correspondents.
Really? Slovenia is a smaller (and poorer) country than Ireland, yet the Slovenian national public broadcaster has correspondents in Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Moscow, Zagreb and London. In today's united Europe, where people are directly affected by what happens outside any single country's borders, relying a single "Europe correspondent" strikes me as a woefully insufficient.
Good - absolutely no need for two Europe correspondents.
Really? Slovenia is a smaller (and poorer) country than Ireland, yet the Slovenian national public broadcaster has correspondents in Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Moscow, Zagreb and London. In today's united Europe, where people are directly affected by what happens outside any single country's borders, relying a single "Europe correspondent" strikes me as a woefully insufficient.
I think for international news, we turn to Sky, BBC or ITV anyway. Do you even see how often the two correspondents are used?
ITV and Sky News only have one Europe correspondent and they survive.
Also, financially RTE are losing money, it's one area I belief where they can save money because there is no public appetite for an increase in the licence fee.
I think this is a massive shock. I thought Robert Shortt was a shoe in for the job considering he was covering all the big business stories since George Lee's departure.
Slovenia is a smaller (and poorer) country than Ireland, yet the Slovenian national public broadcaster has correspondents in Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Moscow, Zagreb and London. In today's united Europe, where people are directly affected by what happens outside any single country's borders, relying a single "Europe correspondent" strikes me as a woefully insufficient.