ARLA/CLUSTER: Britânicos apelam à necessidade de um serviço de rádio de onda longa que está a ser subestimado pela RTÉ

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Need for British longwave radio service underestimated by RTÉ

With fewer than three weeks to go until RTÉ Radio 1 brings its
historic longwave service on 252 (kHz) to an end, the Irish community
in Britain has responded with fury and dismay.

The move, which was announced with just over a month’s notice, is part
of the Irish broadcaster’s new focus on digital platforms.

But the decision to cease transmission, from October 27, was described
as a “bitter blow” to Irish people in Britain as well as parts of the
North of Ireland.

Eddie Walsh, who is PRO of The Workers’ Party (Britain) in Nottingham,
said: “Other options are not open to all of us. I cannot get RTÉ on my
car radio except on longwave and I certainly do not want to listen to
it on my computer. The current radio ads only refer to the island of
Ireland, thus not even mentioning those of us on this side of the
Irish Sea.”

He added: “I would suggest that the station has underestimated the
number of listeners.”

Meanwhile Irish Post reader Sean O’Rinn said: “I have a small radio
beside my bed and listen to RTE on 252 every night. There is no way
that I can use any digital apparatus in its place. There must be
thousands of Irish people here in England who are in a similar
position — we will become completely isolated from our native home.”

The loss of the longwave service comes after the broadcaster closed
its London offices in 2012. Tom McGuire, Head of RTÉ Radio 1,
estimates that no more than 2,000 people use its service.

RTÉ said that 98 per cent of its Radio 1 listeners would be unaffected
by the move. It added that to measure longwave listening numbers in
Britain would prove “a prohibitive service cost”.

When contacted by The Irish Post, an RTÉ spokesperson said: “We will
be running an extensive on-air campaign to inform people of the
alternatives to longwave. The campaign will become more and more
detailed in terms of where RTÉ Radio 1 is available as we near
closure.”

RTÉ confirmed that it would work with agencies in Britain to let Irish
people, groups and societies know what is happening and how they can
keep listening.

When asked for a response to its loyal listeners in Britain — many of
whom do not use the internet, RTÉ acknowledged that not all its
listeners have access to broadband and other data services.

But they added: “We like to think that, as older people adopt such
technologies as smartphones, the radio will be a helpful starting
point. Radio apps are simple to use and immediate in access. We do
understand that this is a source of inconvenience to some listeners
and we do regret it.”

In Ireland, the move was also met with criticism in some quarters.
Writing in a national newspaper last week, columnist John Waters said
the broadcaster had essentially told the Diaspora to modernise or
“take a running jump”. And last week, Ireland’s Catholic bishops urged
RTÉ to reconsider its decision to stop the service.

Bishops’ Conference spokesperson Martin Long said: “The bishops’ real
concern is that people on the margins, who should be the concern of
the national broadcaster, are going to be the worst affected. Whether
it’s the elderly in Northern Ireland or in Britain, who have always
relied on RTÉ for its Sunday worship programmes, these are the people
that the bishops are now very concerned about.”

The bishops said that serving a marginal audience should be a
priority, while calling on RTÉ to carry out a survey to determine the
actual number of listeners to longwave broadcasts of religious
programmes and how prepared those listeners are for a digital
switchover.

Read the full Irish Post story at
http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/
rte-underestimates-need-longwave-british-radio-service