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UP AND OUT
‘Nobody is bigger than RTE’ – Bryan Dobson reveals reason for retirement as he opens up on future after stepping down
Bryan Dobson spent 37 years working for RTE and sits down for an interview with the Irish Sun
RETIRING anchorman Bryan Dobson admits he has no idea how he’ll fill his time after almost four decades of shifts at RTE.
But the broadcasting legend insists he needed to call it a day while he still had youth on his side.
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The dad-of-two hung up his microphone yesterday after 37 years, signing off with: “Dobbo has left the building.”
And after a tell-all with Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show, the hardworking 64-year-old headed off into retirement.
In an exclusive interview, Bryan told us: “I worked every day coming in and doing my shift. I don’t know how I am going to respond to not doing that.
“I’m looking forward to it but I’m not sure how it’s going to fly.”
READ MORE ON BRYAN DOBSON
The journalist, who lives in Dublin’s Portobello, decided to finish early because he wanted to retire “going into summer not winter”.
But he remained modest amid all the tributes as he left the studios, telling the nation: “Nobody is bigger than RTE, and no one is irreplaceable.
“I have always been very conscious that I was part of a team in RTE. Broadcasting is teamwork, and my team was always brilliant — which allowed me to be good behind a microphone.”
Why has there been so much interest in his departure?
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Bryan said: “I think the reason is because I have been on the TV and radio for four decades, covering primarily what has happened in Ireland.
“I’ve been trying to explain the astonishing changes this country has gone though over the past 40 years, and trying to make sense of it when things don’t make sense.”
RTE legend Bryan Dobson retires after 37 years on air
One of his final acts in his RTE career was to report the death of long-time colleague Charlie Bird.
He said: “When it came it had a big impact — it hit me in the studio.
“The day Charlie died, we had a lady in from the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
“She spoke about Charlie and the incredible fundraising he had done.
“But she said something else that choked me up… she talked about the computer Charlie used to speak.
“That technology had been around for a while but people didn’t like to use it because they felt it was silly. Charlie using it made it acceptable.”
BIGGEST MOMENTS ON SCREEN
Looking back on his career, which saw him interview some of the biggest names on the world stage, Bryan recalled his hairiest moment as being chased by a mob in Castlewellan Co Down while reporting for BBC NI in the 1980s.
Bryan said: “There was a huge confrontation over a parade.
“One of the things you need to remember in stand-offs like that, is to stay behind police lines.
“But I was fiddling with this huge, old tape machine and the police lines moved.
“The loyalists hated the media and I remember getting chased through a forest by a mob.”
He added: “I’ve interviewed both Bill and Hillary Clinton, covered 9/11 and travelled to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s election — those were big moments.
“Bill Clinton I interviewed a couple of times after he was President and he was very impressive. There was a big political brain there.
ONE RULE TO STICK BY
“Most of the top politicians in Ireland are very good at saying what they want to say, and avoiding questions they want to avoid.
“What you notice at that top governmental level is that they are all very capable of dealing with the media. It’s now an integral part of the job.
“You can’t be Taoiseach or the Minister of Finance unless you’re able to handle the media and whatever comes at you.
“I have a rule that you only ask someone a question three times and if they don’t answer, you move on.
“People have a perfect right not to answer a question but the audience can make up their minds.”
With nearly four decades at RTE, the veteran staffer is reluctant to get drawn into RTE’s recent payments scandal.
We have high-quality broadcasting for a very small country. And our commercial radio is one of the great broadcasting success stories."
Dobson
Bryan said: “I’m hesitant to go into this, partly because I was with RTE for 37 years and you’re asking about one year.
“I think what’s happened has been very sad, very unfortunate and plainly very damaging to RTE. But the thing that distresses me most of all, is that we are still talking about it months later — and really RTE should have been able to move on from this.
“But I do think RTE will get through it because we have strong leadership in place.
“I am very impressed with director general Kevin Bakhurst. He’s direct and he tells it like it is.
“He is good with people and he’s tough when he needs to be. And you need to be tough running an organisation as big as RTE.”
The Six One anchor also backs the new register of interests for presenters. He told us: “Yes, that is going to help us restore trust — and that’s what’s been damaged most of all.
“There has been so much controversy over what other incomes or activities are going on.
“That’s not an issue at RTE News because we always had very strict rules about what we could and couldn’t do or accept.
“It’s been largely business as usual and that’s because trust in news is important.”
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Quizzed if RTE’s big names will mind having to reveal details of lucrative deals with sponsors, Bryan said: “I have no idea — you’ll have to ask them — but we are a public service broadcaster.
“We are partly funded by the licence fee, so public accountability comes with the territory.”
But he’s happy with the role he played during turbulent times.
He said: “People tell me our news coverage of the RTE controversy was good. That’s fine. I’m glad to hear that.
“It’s been a difficult time. RTE needs to be reformed, and if anything good comes out of this maybe the licence fee, and the financial funding, will be put on a sounder basis. Then there will be a much more sustainable future for RTE.”
While the issue of the TV licence is up for debate, Bryan wants people to keep paying the fee while they have to.
He said: “Yes, I would tell people to pay your TV licence.
“I think it’s fantastic value. You get two TV stations. Three or more radio stations, including Lyric FM of which I am a big fan, and so much more.
GRATITUDE FOR RTE TEAM
THE outgoing RTE favourite was yesterday feted as he bowed out of the airwaves on his final broadcast.
Dobbo said: “As this is my final day on the News At One and my last day at RTE, I would just like to take a moment to thank the team here for making my job such a joy over the last few years.
“Day after day they come up with great story ideas, with fascinating guests and with forensic questions.
“They make me sound good, and I’m very grateful for that.
“My gratitude is due also to everyone I’ve worked with here at RTE over 37 years.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Morning Ireland, The Six One News, The Nine O’Clock News and the many one-off news specials, documentaries and feature programmes I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in.”
“The echo chamber of American news media must be a factor in the rise of Trump.
“People are watching stations that reinforce their own existing views — and I really think its a good to have your views and opinions challenged. It forces you to interrogate yourself.
“That’s what RTE and Newstalk do, and what Virgin Media does.
“You create this space where diametrically opposed views come together and argue it out, rather than just listening to the people you agree with all the time.
“We have high-quality broadcasting for a very small country. And our commercial radio is one of the great broadcasting success stories.
“There is a culture of quality right across the industry — let’s not lose that.
“With all the things that are going on, let’s not lose our broadcasting standards, because they are uniquely Irish.
“Stations like ours must maintain standards, because no one is really going to address the Irish audience other than Irish broadcasters.”
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