“Tone Deaf – Car Manufacturer Announces RTE Celebrity as Brand Ambassador Mid-Scandal” – Tóibín

The Aontú leader has hit out at RTÉ stars whom he labelled ‘Tone Deaf’ in their reaction to the recent controversy in the State Broadcaster.

Speaking today, Deputy Tóibín said: “I actually thought this was a joke when I read about a car manufacturer teaming up with an RTE ‘star’ in advertising newspapers yesterday morning, but no, a particular car manufacturer has announced THIS WEEK that they’ve a new RTÉ brand ambassador”

Deputy Tóibín continued: “This is incredibly bad PR on behalf of the RTÉ star in question, but incredibly good PR for the car manufacturer. I am intentionally not naming the car brand, but you can rest assured that their announcement yesterday will ensure that their brand name will be discussed by everyone within the political and media circles, and around kitchen tables, over the coming days. They may get their coverage and sales may skyrocket as a result of what is  an incredibly ill-timed announcement”.

“It is becoming more apparent that there exists a massive gap, between the general public and many upper earners in RTÉ. There is also a massive gap in terms of pay and conditions, between the celebrities in RTÉ and the hard working excellent journalists putting in long shifts. Celebrity seems to the currency of RTÉ more valued than the many workers who work diligently producing quality material and breaking important stories.

There needs to be a pay cap within RTÉ and we need to have accountability at upper management levels. Members of the Executive board and the General board did not do their jobs. They should not be allowed to keep their jobs after the investigations have been complete. The fact that this brand ambassador announcement was made this week shows how tone deaf  some RTÉ stars are in their attitudes towards this scandal and the public”, concluded Tóibín.