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Updated 22.45
THE NEW HEAD of RTÉ One has been announced as Adrian Lynch.
Currently the managing director of Animo Television productions, Lynch is to step down from that post in November when he takes up the RTÉ One Channel Controller position.
Animo Television has produced a number of popular programmes for RTÉ including Celebrity Bainisteoir, The Secret Millionaire, Feargal Quinn’s Retail Therapy and Ireland’s Fittest Family. MD of RTÉ television, Glen Killane, said today that this experience with Animo meant that “Adrian has proven that he has excellent programming and public service instincts as well as an innate entrepreneurial spirit”.
Lynch said in comments released by RTÉ that he was hoping to work with Irish programme makers and talent, “both inside, and outside of RTÉ, to bring the very best of homegrown content to Irish audiences”.
While RTÉ has made a number of appointments in recent times of external candidates, these have mostly come from other broadcasters. The MD of News and Current Affairs (and Deputy DG) Kevin Bakhurst, came from the BBC. George Dixon, whom Lynch will replace as Controller of RTÉ One, came from Channel 4, and has since returned to the BBC. The main people over RTÉ Two are Bill Malone (Controller) and Eddie Doyle (Head of Comedy, Talent Development and Music) – they are both longtime RTÉ employees.
What now for Animo?
Steve Carson, husband to Miriam O’Callaghan and since departed for BBC Northern Ireland, was the last appointment to such a high-level TV position to have come from running his own production company.
He and O’Callaghan had set up Mint in 2000, producing a number of shows for RTÉ including Bertie, Who Do You Think You Are?, Haughey, Surgeons, Our Lady’s and Fine Gael at War. When he landed the job of Director of Programmes at RTÉ Television in 2009, he and O’Callaghan decided to wind up Mint Productions to avoid a conflict of interest.
It is not yet clear if Animo Television will continue to seek commissions from RTÉ when Lynch, who is one of two directors of Animo, begins his new post in Montrose.
RTÉ told TheJournal.ie that as well as stepping down as MD of Animo when he begins the job, Lynch will also resign as a director of the company. A spokesperson said:
All staff and contractors are required to be compliant with RTÉ’s Code of Business Conduct for employees, available here. (See Section 3.2)
Protocols have been put in place to ensure no conflict arises in respect of current or future commissions from Animo Productions.
Section 3.2 of RTÉ’s Code of Business Conduct says that employees of RTÉ “may be” asked to dispose of a financial stake in an outside interest that might be a conflict of interest to their RTÉ duties.
Adrian Lynch did not respond to TheJournal.ie’s requests for comment on this matter.
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This picture is misleading to say the least.
yeah thought the exact same!
Ditto!
I know. When you take the wig and makeup off, the bottom picture shows him to be quite plain!
Congrats to Adrian! Its a long way from Film & Video Soc.
Any chance RTE can stop having RTE employee’s as guests on their shows?
Its getting really boring at this stage, RTE are actually paying their employee’s to interview other RTE employee’s who are also being paid by RTE. what a farce.
Yes that newsreader was definitely the nadir.
It’s all our money that they’re using to zombify and humiliate us with.
RTÉ’s list of things to spend our money on, Summer 2K14:
Pump another few million into Fair City
Hire Linda Martin to put together an even tackier eurovision entry
More interviews with said wishwife
More interviews with Twink
2 Tonne order of night cream and panda eye shadow for Miriam Ó Callaghan
Solid gold statue of Angela Merkel in the RTÉ forecourt
RTE is dreadful. I mean dreadfully dreadful.
But hanging out in the canteen is a way of life
waiting for the call from Marty or Derek or OMG Miriam
you cannot take that from them!
I thought Pippa was the Head of Rte One before I clicked on the link… She s one gorgeous woman though
Yep it caught me too.
Same…
Glad to see everything kept nice and cosy, wouldn’t want some troublemaker given the job.
You can relax tubs, Marian,joe. You will continue to be handsomely remunerated for your mediocre, biased and amateur performances
The time for cutting the apron-strings is well past due.
The RTE tax should be abolished and this condescending institution left to stand on its own feet (or not).
If he can come up with something more imaginative than a new version of ‘school around the corner’ and introducing a new round of games to Winning streak then he’ll be a massive success…..
Pressure is on!!!
Hold on now ! They have introduced Tomás Ó Sé as a panelist on the Sunday Game …
So RTE is going to be awash with mind numbingly boring reality TV as it seems this is all the new controller seems to have on his CV, brilliant -just what we need, more “celebs” like the two in the above picture forced upon us on a hourly basis.
Celebrity Banisteoir is one of the most cringeworthy programs ever to grave RTE. That says a lot, considering the shite RTE produce.
Also, Brian Ormond is NOT a celebrity. He’s an rte staff member who accidentally walked onto the late late show (like most of the show’s guests), where he was interviewed.
Any chance of RTE following a number of families trying to live week by week on a reduced income and having government politicians in the studio to give their reaction at the end? Might make an interesting programme
RTE will never change like the Dail same people same family, no outsiders need apply.
Has this outfit made programs for other than RTE? Seems to be stretching the word independent a bit.
Pippa would make a good head I’d say
Why didn’t you just put a picture of Lady Gaga on the article if you were trying got be misleadingly random?
Shoot, for a minute there I thought the new head was Pippa !
Can’t blame them for cropping out Brian Ormond’s mug though!
Enjoy your salary that’s been extorted from people, Adrian. I hope your tenure sees RTE finally go under.
If can’t believe they called a programme ‘Celebrity Bainisteoir’. Why not use the word ‘manager’? So glad I’ve never seen it.
Says the guy with the name as gaelgie.
And there was i thinking his name was as Gaeilge.
Touché. A fair point :) I suppose the answer is that their jackets say bainisteoir and not manager. But they could still have called it “Celebrity Manager” and left the tokenistic lip-service out of it.
I thought it was something to do with stairs!( Not ashamed to admit “and I not knowing a focal at all”)
You are slated,Susan.
Poor sub editor?
Guess what? We don’t care.
I love how everyone hates RTE now. But when the new series of Love/Hate comes along, I’m sure most people will change their tune.
Love/Hate is produced by neither RTE, nor the company that the new head is coming from.
I heard this guy is some sort of Iona plant, working from the inside to advance his pro christian, peaceful, life affirming viewpoint.
He is thought to be part of the new breed of pro life stormtroopers with a mission to bring some level of humanity to the RTE programming schedule.
Poor deluded fool, does he not know the RTE are beyond salvation.
Who cares who’s head of one of the worse tv stations ever.. Closely followed by rte 2..
TV3 & 3E are a lot worse than RTE2. How many boring “undercover” & traveller documentaries can they keep churning out?
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