23.01.2017: RTÉ’s on-air statement about the Ray D’Arcy Show “completely fell short” says PLC

23.01.2017: RTÉ’s on-air statement about the Ray D’Arcy Show “completely fell short” says PLC

 

At the start of the Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 today a statement was read out in compliance with the recent Broadcasting Authority of Ireland findings against the broadcaster for conducting an interview on abortion that was deemed to be biased in favour of those campaigning for repeal of the 8th Amendment.

Commenting on today’s on-air statement, Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro Life Campaign said: “RTÉ’s response today has fallen far short of what the public deserve from the taxpayer funded National Broadcaster.

Dr Cullen said “they have effectively put their heads in the sand on this one in the hope that the matter would go unnoticed. It is completely unacceptable for RTÉ to behave in this manner.

“This is the third time in the space of a year that a BAI complaint has been upheld against the Ray D’Arcy Show over its biased abortion coverage.  The BAI also issued RTÉ with a formal “warning notice” over this latest breach of the broadcasting code.

“RTÉ’s ongoing refusal to address biased reporting on abortion is costing it to lose viewers and listeners by the day,” Dr Cullen concluded.

ENDS