Today FM celebrates setting the radio news agenda

Radio station Today FM is celebrating the fact that its main news programmes, not the State broadcaster, have been setting radio's news agenda this week.

It was Eamon Dunphy on The Last Word on Today FM who reignited the controversy on Tuesday evening, when he pressed the Taoiseach into saying it would be helpful if former Supreme Court Judge Mr Hugh O'Flaherty explained his role in the Sheedy affair.

Yesterday Mr Dunphy secured an interview with Mr O'Flaherty, along with the independent television channel, TV3.

Mr Kevin Healy, head of public affairs at RTE, said the station was "not losing any sleep" over its rivals' success.

Mr Healy said media were "scooped" all the time by their competitors and this was "not the end of the world. The Times scoops the Indo some mornings and the Indo scoops the Times other mornings. But we have credited Today FM throughout our reporting of the story."

Ms Helen Shaw, director of radio at RTE, also said she was not worried by the lead Today FM took in advancing the story. "They interviewed Bertie and got a line. They got a story and good for them. That's the business we're in."

Yesterday morning, Mrs Kay O'Flaherty, the former judge's wife, spoke on The Marian Finucane Show on RTE Radio, and criticised the treatment of her husband at the hands of various media over the past 14 months.

Later RTE's News at One discussed the impending Today FM interview, although the rival station was not named.

"I've been told that he's not going to talk to RTE," RTE's Mary Wilson said. "It seems that Hugh O'Flaherty has been upset by some of the coverage that has gone on over a wide range of programmes on RTE." She said he had been particularly upset by the Liveline programmes on RTE Radio. In a few brief words to RTE from Mr and Ms O'Flaherty during a photocall on their doorstep yesterday, Mrs O'Flaherty said her husband felt badly treated by RTE. Asked if he was still taking the EIB job, it was Mrs O'Flaherty who replied "yes".

Mr Dunphy said his programme's production team "just got lucky".

"We made an interview request and we just take these programmes one at a time." Rejecting the suggestion that his interview style that had gleaned the quotes from the Taoiseach which set Tuesday evening's news agenda, Mr Dunphy said he was more usually "hammered for being too soft on politicians".

"I just take my time over these things. I let the Taoiseach finish his sentences and these things do require patience. If you ask someone to come on the show , being good mannered is imperative."