Madam, - It was a bizarre editorial decision of The Irish Times to publish a diatribe on TV3 without any context. Michael Parsons (Opinion, September 15th) may not like or know popular culture, but it was inexcusable that such an attack descended into misogyny and casual racism.
To describe a female presenter (yes, we have them in TV3) of a hugely popular daily show as a "botox Barbie" and to conclude the lengthy article with "well, now there's a new 'Dev' on the block - a philandering Asian shopkeeper in Coronation Street" is beneath The Irish Times. Shame on you. - Yours, etc,
DAVID McREDMOND, CEO, TV3, Ballymount, Dublin 24.
Madam, - One of the main points made by Michael Parsons is that TV3 has a schedule made up of many UK shows. How many articles in The Irish Times each day are originated in English papers? What percentage of Irish broadsheets are originated by Irish writers?
What Mr Parsons refers to as a "copycat version of The Apprentice" is actually a fully licensed television format. Television format trading is a legitimate business worth over $5 billion a year globally. Irish viewers have as much right to see home-produced versions of successful international formats as viewers in any other country. Mr Parsons refers to "the dreary conveyor belt of British 'reality' television"; The Apprentice is a multi-award-winning US format.
This "dreary" BBC series is one of the highest-rated factual series on the BBC and is watched in Ireland by over 8 per cent of the viewing public, a remarkable feat for a UK show in Ireland. So why shouldn't Irish viewers see an Irish version?
The Apprentice is also a format on which an Irish independent production company has taken a huge risk, and that risk is shared and backed up by a courageous broadcaster, namely TV3 - a decision taken by the same Ben Frow that Mr Parsons has character-assassinated.
This production has created over 25 full-time jobs for nine months. It will give the Irish public a chance to see The Apprentice get an Irish twist, featuring 14 of the very best young Irish people taking on tasks in the Irish economy - all in businesses owned, run and staffed by readers of The Irish Times - and, more importantly, advertisers.
The Apprentice on TV3 is produced by Screentime ShinAwiL under licence and guidance from Mark Burnett Production in Los Angeles. It is the original format being produced on a par with the production quality of NBC and BBC. It is not a rip-off cheap imitation of a format that Irish viewers are used to seeing elsewhere.
What qualifies Mr Parsons to sit in judgment on television scheduling in one of the most stagnant television markets in the world and criticise people who are trying to do something about it? I can guarantee that your readers will enjoy The Apprentice every Monday at 9pm on TV3. Let them decide. - Yours, etc,
LARRY BASS, CEO,Screentime ShinAwiL Productions, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.