RTÉ RADIO One has turned to Helen Shaw, broadcasting consultant and former managing director of RTÉ Radio, to produce the Media Show, a weekly media magazine that begins an initial eight-week run on April 14th.
Brenda Power, a Sunday Times and Irish Daily Mail columnist who is currently freelance, will host the 30-minute programme, which goes out in a 7.30pm slot and will also be available via podcast and the RTÉ Radio Player, where it is likely to pick up a decent core following.
“Our brief is everything to do with media from the public’s perspective,” says Shaw, who promises that the show will aim to demystify media and give listeners a behind-the-scenes” look into media institutions and decision-making, covering everything from advertising to the role of the RTÉ Audience Council.
After six months of seeing its news and current affairs division in the headlines for the wrong reasons, it would be understandable if RTÉ was a little shy of covering a media sector in which it is the largest player.
Shaw hails the broadcaster for giving an independent company (her media consultancy and production house Athena Media) “the opportunity to stand back and do something new in this field”.
The timing is also right, given the sector as a whole is undergoing major transitions that, while well under way, seem very far from being over.
* Last week, Teleprinter incorrectly stated that UTV owns Galway Bay FM.
UTV Radio Solutions sells advertising on its behalf, but the station is wholly owned by Connacht Tribune Group.
