Despite RTE Radio 1 launching its brand new schedule this week, there remains no sign of ‘white smoke’ billowing above the national broadcasting towers, with station bosses still ‘mulling’ over who to appoint to the Morning Ireland hosting roles.
As Radio 1’s revamped daily output kicked off this week to much fanfare, the station’s flagship rise-and-shine news and current affairs show, Morning Ireland, is still up for grabs.
The delay in the decision-making process is, according to station insiders, due to a number of factors.
Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
‘Morning Ireland is one of their biggest shows, they want to get it spot on so as not to be chopping and changing if presenters don’t quite work out for one reason or another,’ an insider told Extra.ie.
‘There is a panel deciding on who the Morning Ireland presenters will be, and that process takes some time,’ the insider explained.
Another RTE mole told Extra.ie that Montrose management and the HR department at the state-subsided broadcaster are being meticulous in the decision-making process.
Sarah McInerney. Pic: RTÉ
This extends to ensuring that all i’s are dotted and every t’s crossed in any contractual agreements drawn up between the broadcaster and contributing presenters.
‘There are also contacts to be worked out, and management are being a lot more meticulous with contracts and those types of things these days,’ said the source, before adding; ‘which is of course a good thing.’
But the delay in announcing who will land the Morning Ireland gig has left a number of the station’s leading presenters in a state of limbo.
Pic: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sarah McInerney, who until last week co-hosted Radio 1’s Drivetime alongside Cormac Ó hEadhra, has been mooted as the top contender to bag one of the four up-for-grabs Morning Ireland presenting positions.
‘Sarah is a really good broadcaster and everyone knows how good she is,’ said a separate station source. ‘But, that said, it would be really unfair to everyone to say who is or is not getting the gig. ’
