Off Topic podcast: Sexual consent, Viceland and RTÉ’s general direction

Lynn Ruane joins the show to discuss Trinity’s consent workshops, and we look at RTÉ’s hunt for a new boss


On today's Off Topic we talk to Lynn Ruane, the president of the students' union at Trinity College Dublin about her article in today's Irish Times on sexual consent. It follows the controversy over moves by that union for mandatory workshops on consent for freshers resident in the university.

Also in the studio are media columnist Laura Slattery and journalist Louise Bruton. They discuss the challenges facing RTÉ as it prepares to hire a new director general to replace Noel Curran. What are the most pressing issues the new DG will face, and what qualities should RTÉ be looking for in its new leader? Does RTÉ's current output reflect a modern Ireland, and how will RTÉ's competitors attempt to outmanoeuvre it in the coming months?

And in the final part of the show we discuss the future of television as envisaged by Vice Media. The brash, new, 20-year-old heir to the media throne is about to launch a 24-hour cable television channel called Viceland. Most current TV industry strategies involve moving online and unpackaging existing elements, but Vice is doing precisely the opposite – what's its rationale and what impact will it have?