Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE HEAD OF RTÉ Digital has said that she wants all sections of the State broadcaster to “convert” to digital.
Múirne Laffan told the Dublin Web Summit yesterday that while RTÉ had been online for 12 years, there had been an “incredible” change in online in the past five to seven years. She cited the “fragmentation in devices” used to access the web, and said that accessing RTÉ online through desktop and laptop had declined.
There was even a fragmentation in how people watched the RTÉ Player – the station’s online watchback service – depending on what device the audience used to access it.
There are very different programmes being watched on the Player – on game consoles, it tends to be comedy and programmes for young people; it’s news and drama on the iPad. We want to get out there and make sure we are meeting our audience’s needs, whatever, wherever.
Laffan said she had a “great team” but a small one in digital but that they had incubated some digital-only products that then became integral to the overall RTÉ experience, for example, its RTÉ News Now service. “We had a corner of the organisation that had permission to try new things… It’s a digital native that has become mainstream.”
To this end, Laffan said she believed that all sections of the broadcaster – from entertainment, mainstream TV, sport – had to be digital.
She did however note that broadband speeds and penetration in Ireland were a problem. “Wi-fi is a major challenge and a potential opportunity for Ireland,”she said, “60 per cent of our audience is accessing us through Wi-fi.”
Laffan hinted that RTÉ online wanted to work with other media organisations in the Irish market, as there is “an insatiable market for content”.
RTÉ confirmed last year that it was hoping to make an offer to share video content with members of NNI (National Newspapers of Ireland). However, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland claimed at the time that it was a “kneejerk reaction” by RTÉ to pressure NNI had exerted on the broadcaster. RTÉ’s offer to share content has so far not extended to other national non-NNI news operations. The NNI had claimed that RTÉ had unfair commercial advantage in the online market and that it wasn’t transparent about how much public funding is used in the digital arm.
Meanwhile, there was a great deal of consensus between members of a panel discussing the future of news journalism at the Summit yesterday. Henry McDonald of the Guardian and the Observer said that he found the lines blurring between print, online and broadcasting. Today, for example, he will be in Belfast to cover the opening of the Marie Stopes abortion clinic and said he will be writing about it – but also shooting short video on his iPhone5 for instant uploading to the Guardian’s website.
“You have to adapt and evolve,” said McDonald. “The old way of publishing once a day are gone out the window.” He also pointed out that citizen and ‘traditional’ journalism can co-exist and complement each other, as in the current reporting on events in Syria.
Matt Gilligan, CEO of the just-launched Circa news app, said that his news service wanted to take the essentials of news – the stats, video, pictures and facts – and “boil that down into a format that we felt was very native for the phone”. He also said that while he believed in “some” algorithm-based journalism, he also employed journalists.
Gilligan said that it points to all sources for each bite-sized news item it posts. Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera said that his site posts forces readers to click back to the original source if they want any more information than what is contained in the first sentence.
The Dublin Web Summit continues this morning. Founder Paddy Cosgrove said yesterday that over 4,000 people were attending the conference in the RDS. Today’s speakers on the main stage include the CEO of the Mozilla Foundation, Gary Kovacs; the founder of Flipboard, Mike McCue; Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld and other tech leaders on three side stages, Digital, Cloud and Developer.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Just a normal day on the chaos that is the M50. Expect two or three crashes later on just in time for the evening rush.
@Dave Murray: find it easier to go through town now with less likely chance of crashes
From my own personal observations and IMHO it would appear to me (without any scientific measurements) that most collisions happen due to McDonalds Queuing Symptom. That other lane is moving faster, a little gap to the right or left……..and go ffs….just go…….oooops! And as for the pathetic rubber neckers on the other side of the road!
@Dave Murray: Drivers are driving to close to the vehicle in front and no time for reaction I have seen drivers continually hitting the brakes on the M50 when there’s no need to thus creating a chain reaction from behind. Lots of drivers don’t heed this warning. Overhead cameras should be used to pull in drivers and given a warning .
@Alan Scott: Or a helicopter with a bloke with a huge big stick to bash them in the head with
@A H:
Ok laugh on.
theres always enough Idiots to go around on the Journal.ie
The toll should be waived if there are delays.
@neuromancer:
Should the people causing the delay be fined to make up the lost revenue of the free tolling during delays?
@Nick Allen: the people who cause the accident should be banned from driving. And there should be spot checks on motorway behaviour. If someone is seen to not use the lanes and or speed properly they should be on a probation period where they have to be tested prior to be allowed go back on motorways.
People literally haven’t a clue.
@neuromancer: the toll should be doubled if they crash!!
Far too many design faults on this motorway. Most large cities have an outer/circular motorway (like the M25); we built half a circle and are suffering the consequences.
@Fank Pulman: You realise that one side of Dublin is the sea?
@Ben McArthur: Thus, a half circle wasn’t the answer…
@Fank Pulman:
What design faults on the M50 are leading to traffic jams on the M50?
@Richard Wright:
A tunnel from Blackrock to Sutton would be the Dogs
@Richard Wright: No. We were hooked on circles and/or half circles – as if there was no alternative. Few traffic problems in NYC for example – or Washington. And no circles/half-circles – just the grid system!¡
@Fank Pulman:
Few traffic problems in NYC? Have you ever been there? Have to ever got a taxi from JFK to the centre to NYC?
@Nick Allen: Yes to the 3 questions.
@Fank Pulman:
So if you have experienced NYC, how can you possibly say they don’t have traffic issues.
@Nick Allen: FFS – imagine the toll!!!
@Paul Furey:
Yes it maybe be a stiff toll alright
@Nick Allen: Lived in Manhattan. Traffic is not a problem – largely, I admit, because of people using taxis and the subway. Also – parking is at a absolute premium. But, can you not think of any alternative to the M50 semi-circle, like (say) a grid?
@Fank Pulman:
The M50 is great, yes there are some traffic jams at time but by and large it works very well. More disciplined drivers and a better public transport system would solve a lot of the issues on the M50.
@Nick Allen: Rough figures:- M50/28 miles/16 junctions. M25/117 miles/31 junctions – over 4 times as long, less than twice the number of junctions! The M50 tries to do too much!?
@Fank Pulman: no
@Fank Pulman:
M25 is also affectionately known as the largest car park in London.
That said the motorway network needs to be designed for the cities they serve. Fewer junctions in the M50 would only turn the M50 into a large Dublin bypass for people looking to avoid Dublin. The M50 needs to serve the people of Dublin to stop them using the city centre. If you reduce the access points you would reduce usage and also create new bottlenecks at the access points.
@Gareth Cooney: Fair enough – but the Federal Motorway 10, around Berlin (for example) – is the same length as the M25, with about the same number of junctions. Our M50 seems to have more than the norm¡
@Fank Pulman: it’s not the road, it’s idiot drivers!!!
@Lesley O Meara: Perhaps. The Peripherique(!) around Paris has a 45 mph limit! Vastly reduced accident levels.
@Jayo Breathneach: tks…didn’t know…
Footage of on board camera’s should be allowed to be uploaded to the Gardaí easily to prosecute drivers swerving in and out of lanes, tailgating etc. Send offenders a €90 fine, 2 penalty points and a link to the footage.
Keep it a secret, but there is a double lane duel carriageway type road running from Jobstown to Liffey valley completely under utilised, either this or get an amphibious car. I prefer the second option when going to Howth cause there’s no toll!
@Radioska: ssssssshaduuupp!
I do love my regular M50 news bulletins. Great crack
It’s Every day on the M50 we must have the worst Drivers if it’s not a brake down its a crash.
I think the National Roads Authority are proposing at peak times speed restrictions on all lanes north and south in effort to stop the relentless crashes that cause so much disruption.
@Austin Rock: unless it’s enforced all day every day it will be ignored.
If Gardaí given powers to enforce fines by using the existing camera technology on the M50 that would cut down a hell of a lot stupid road behaviour
@Shane Cormican: agree totally
Once summer is over it’s back to work from home from 08:00-9:30 (miss peak gridlock)and then head to office. Far more efficient use of time, more productive and way less hassle-Fully appreciate this scenario does not work for everyone.
have your say