The future of Public Service Broadcasting is being debated at a conference in Dublin this afternoon.
Commercial radio stations are looking for a slice of the licence fee to combat falling advertising revenues.
Clare FM’s Gavin Grace reports:
Committee chair Hildegard Naughten saying the system needs to change.
And that’s what the media executives, politicians and academics here are trying to figure out – what’s the future for public service broadcasting?
The licence fee has long been the sole preserve of RTÉ – but Fianna Fáil’s Communications spokesman Timmy Dooley says that needs to change.
A number of issues face the industry.
One is licence fee dodging – which Minister Denis Naughten aims to tackle by using a licence fee collecting agent.
Outcomes from the forum today will feed into the Communications Committee report – which should be before the Oireachtas by September.
Committee chair Hildegard Naughten admitted they don’t have all the answers, but will be pressing hard for solutions.
And in a changing media landscapes, outlets want those solutions sooner rather than later.
