New Technologies and Changing Work Practices in Irish Broadcasting Revisited

At the end of the century, the challenges posed by ‘the pace of change affecting both the technology and the public policy of broadcasting’ required that RTE , the Irish broadcasting company, embraced a strategy of continuous change. To meet these challenges, the Executive Board instigated a ‘thorough review of the organisation…not merely anticipating the imminent arrival of keener domestic and international competition…[but] to project itself into the future’. Following an intensive six-month review, the RTE Authority and senior management issued a blueprint for the future, Review of Structures and Operations; at the same time, the trade union group within RTE, with management support, published their own review, Towards a Shared Vision. The Review identified ‘modern technologies, structures and accompanying work practices…[and operating] in a commercially enterprising manner in order to maximise its revenue’ as fundamental to any strategy for survival. In so doing, the report acknowledged significant changes in work practices that have already occurred and anticipated further changes to ensure that RTE’s ‘methods of operation…conform to best practice’. This paper charts these developments and their impact