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RTÉ HAS ANNOUNCED the appointment of Kevin Bakhurst as its new managing director of news and current affairs.
Bakhurst is the current deputy head of the BBC Newsroom and controller of the BBC News Channel. He will take up the position in September and will also sit on RTÉ executive board, the State broadcaster announced this afternoon.
The Cambridge graduate will replace Ed Mulhall who took a retirement package in April following the controversy over the defamation of Fr Kevin Reynolds by the now-defunct Prime Time Investigates programme.
Bakhurst has been working to create the BBC multimedia newsroom and is currently involved in delivering BBC News’ move to central London as well overseeing aspects of its London Olympics coverage.
He has previously worked as editor of BBC’s flagship news bulletin the Ten O’Clock News winning numerous BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards between 2003 and 2005.
“Kevin has huge and varied experience, a proven track record and key leadership skills. He also has a keen sense of how News delivery is changing across all media,” RTÉ Director General Noel Curran said today in a statement.
Bakhurst said in a statement that it was an “amazing opportunity” to take up a job that was one of very few he would have considered leaving the BBC for.
He said: “It’s an amazing opportunity to lead such a formidable team at RTÉ News and Current Affairs who rightly have a national and worldwide reputation for their journalism.
“This is one of the very few jobs that I would have considered leaving BBC News to do. I have had a tremendous time at BBC News and would like to thank my colleagues and teams there – in particular on the BBC News Channel – for their terrific work, commitment and support.”
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Hopefully he will address the tired and dull format of RTE news programmes, the poor editing and crappy imagery, that awful opening music, the same old faces, the obsession with gloomy economic news, the obsession with making news reports right beside busy roads in rush-hour traffic, the small gene-pool of TV journalists who can actually ask questions and react (rather than simply read the auto-queue).
He looks like a real bag of laughs!
Is that a sneer he is trying in that photo lol
don’t tell me he has no relatives already working at rte, surely that’s the only way to get a job there?!
Or maybe because he clearly qualified to do the job?
hopefully an appointment that works out. seems like an intelligent choice. H e has work ahead of him as Radio Telifis Socialist Soviet Republic na hEireann is in a dire mess
“Radio Telifis Socialist Soviet Republic na hEireann”
Thanks Glen,I nearly chocked laughing when I read that :-)
I think it’s a pout gone wrong?
I think this is what he was going for! http://cdn.weinterrupt.com/wp-content/uploads/russianscary11.jpg
We will be integrated alot quicker..rule Britanna ..
Has he been vetted for potential conflicts of interest? *ahem*
The BBC ? dear god the biggest government propaganda mouthpiece in Britain……..more horse**** from another copy and paster……thejournal has credibility but the BBC,RTE and so on are just there to keep us all in step and fill our minds with pointless news……..they are all the same except thejournal of course!
Recently the BBC was caught red handed using an Iraq photo and published it with a story about so-called Syrian massacres………..”Photographer Marco di Lauro said he nearly “fell off his chair” when he saw the image being used, and said he was “astonished” at the failure of the corporation to check their sources.” Mistake ? I seriously doubt it they have been at this stuff for years………using photos out of there original context on serious matter is a disgrace to journalism and gives real journalists a bad name……stay at the BBC we have it bad enough already
A photo from a war that was based on a complete pack of lies is bad enough but to use it for propaganda purposes on a completely different story is just astonishing to any logical thinking mind…….
The BBC said ““We used it with a clear disclaimer saying it could not be independently verified.” is that journalism ? I seriously doubt by any low standard of journalism and this is supposed to be a reputable News station……….here is a picture of SANTA CLAUSE he is real but we cannot independently verify it….what an absolute joke !!
The face of happiness
Smug McSmuggersen.
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