Noel Curran | |
---|---|
![]() Curran in 2013 | |
Director-General of the European Broadcasting Union | |
Assumed office October 2017 | |
President | Jean-Paul Philippot |
Preceded by | Ingrid Deltenre |
Director-General of RTÉ | |
In office 1 February 2011 –11 April 2016 | |
Preceded by | Cathal Goan |
Succeeded by | Dee Forbes |
Personal details | |
Born | Carrickmacross,Monaghan,Ireland | 13 November 1965
Spouse | Eimear Quinn (m. 2005) |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Versoix,Geneva,Switzerland |
Alma mater | Dublin City University |
Profession | |
Noel Curran (born 13 November 1965) is an Irish radio producer, television producer and journalist who has been the director-general of the EBU - the European Broadcasting Union since October 2017. The EBU represents 115 media organisations in over 50 countries. It is based in Geneva but has offices in Brussels, Rome, Washington, New York, Beijing and Moscow. The EBU provides an international news service to its members as well as negotiating international Sports rights such as the Olympic Games for them. It also has a Technology and Innovation division, a media research unit, a Music Exchange for classical and jazz performances, as well as a lobbying and policy department. It is also responsible for the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Curran is the first Irish national to become Director General of the EBU. Curran also served as Chairman of Eurovision Services, the former commercial subsidiary of EBU. He previously served as the director-general of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ; Ireland's national broadcaster) from 2011 to 2016. [1] He has worked in the editorial, management and commercial areas of media.
Curran was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, where he attended both primary and secondary school. He studied communications in Dublin City University, where he specialised in Irish and international broadcasting policy, writing his final year thesis on the future of public service broadcasting. [2] He also wrote about European broadcasting policy while studying for post-grad.
He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) as a business and investigative reporter in 1992, after a period working for Business & Finance magazine. While working at Business & Finance Curran was involved in several prominent investigations. He became deputy editor of Business & Finance two years after joining as a reporter, before leaving for RTÉ. He joined Current Affairs as a senior financial journalist before becoming a television producer.
He then became executive producer of live entertainment series and productions, [3] producing several live television shows at the Point Theatre, before being appointed as executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, held in Dublin, presented by Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley. He was a member of the EBU Eurovision group.
He returned to RTÉ as editor of current affairs, where he helped launch the Prime Time Investigates series of documentaries. The series won many national and international for its documentaries during his tenure. He was editor of the award winning Mary Raftery documentaries Cardinal Secrets and Broken Trust. He spoke on Radio 1's 'Drivetime' programme about Mary Raftery's contribution to journalism after her death in January 2012.
He left RTE to become Director of an independent TV production company. While working in the independent sector he won an IFTA award for the documentary “Bad Blood” which investigated the role of international pharmaceutical companies in the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV.
In 2003, he was appointed managing director of TV, at 37 the youngest person to hold the position, according to the Irish Independent and Irish Times. [4] He led a policy of increased investment in Irish TV production during his tenure, as RTÉ's commercial income grew to its highest historic level. According to the Sunday Business Post Curran's tenure marked the first time editorial and commercial departments in TV were integrated under one managing director.
In March 2010, Curran left RTÉ to pursue a consultancy and other private business interests before being interviewed and then appointed DG by the RTÉ board effective from 1 February 2011. [5] [6]
He returned to Dublin City University in April 2016, where he criticised Irish broadcasting policy and warned that RTÉ and public media faced a difficult financial future without changes in policy and funding. [7]
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut at the 1965 contest in Naples, missing only two contests since, in 1983 and 2002. The Irish participant broadcaster in the contest is Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Ireland shares a joint record total of seven wins with Sweden, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively. Ireland has finished second four times, while Sweden has done that just once.
Olivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.
Frank McNamara is an internationally known arranger, conductor, composer, and pianist from Ireland.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "They Can't Stop the Spring" written by John Waters and Tommy Moran. The song was performed by the band Dervish, which was internally selected in November 2006 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. RTÉ organised the national final Eurosong 2007 to select the song that Dervish would perform. Four songs faced a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "They Can't Stop the Spring" as the Irish entry.
Events from the year 2009 in Ireland.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Without Your Love" written by Pat Sheridan. The song was performed by Gary O'Shaughnessy. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2001 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven songs faced a regional televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Without Your Love" performed by Gary O'Shaughnessy as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Mary Frances Thérèse Raftery was an Irish investigative journalist, filmmaker and writer.
This is a summary of 2010 in Ireland.
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. It is headquartered in Donnybrook in Dublin, with offices across different parts of Ireland.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "It's for You" written by Niall Mooney, Mårten Eriksson, Jonas Gladnikoff and Lina Eriksson. The song was performed by Niamh Kavanagh, who had previously represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 where she won the contest with the song "In Your Eyes". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2010 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. Five songs faced the votes of six regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "It's for You" performed by Niamh Kavanagh as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Love/Hate is an Irish dramatic television series broadcast on RTÉ Television. The show aired between 2010 and 2014 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. The show depicts fictional characters in Dublin's criminal underworld.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Lipstick" written by Dan Priddy, Lars Halvor Jensen and Martin Michael Larson. The song was performed by the duo Jedward. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2011 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Five songs faced the votes of six regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Lipstick" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by the duo Jedward, who had previously represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 where they achieved eighth place with the song "Lipstick". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2012 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Waterline" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Aoife Kavanagh is an Irish independent journalist and documentary producer. She was previously a reporter and presenter for RTÉ, working on both radio and television, with a particular interest in foreign news and international development stories. She resigned from RTÉ in the wake of the "Mission to Prey" documentary for Prime Time that resulted in a libel payment to Kevin Reynolds. She has since gone on to make a number of documentaries with Frontline Films in Dublin, including "The (Un)teachables", "Schizophrenia, Voices in My Head", and "I Am Traveller".
"Mission to Prey" is the title of an episode of the RTÉ programme Prime Time Investigates broadcast in May 2011. It falsely accused an Irish Catholic priest in Kenya of having fathered a child by engaging in child sexual abuse. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland fined the RTÉ as a result and the decision to air the programme was described as "one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made" in the history of RTÉ broadcasting.
Alan Hughes is an Irish television personality, pantomime actor and producer. He works for Virgin Media and appears on Ireland AM. He also hosted Family Fortunes from 2012 to 2014.
Tubridy was a talk radio show, presented by Ryan Tubridy each weekday morning on RTÉ 2fm, from September 2010 until July 2015. Along with The Colm Hayes Show, which succeeded it on the schedules until 2013, Tubridy was intended as a long-term replacement for its long-running predecessor The Gerry Ryan Show.
Events during the year 2012 in Ireland.
The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2012.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Sunlight" written by Nicky Byrne, Wayne Hector and Ronan Hardiman. The song was performed by Nicky Byrne, who was internally selected in January 2016 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) to represent the nation at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. "Sunlight" was presented as the Irish entry during the announcement of Byrne's internal selection on 13 January 2016.