Prime Time
Encyclopedia
Prime Time is an Irish
news analysis, current affairs
and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One
on Tuesday and Thursday nights (reducing to once a week in the summer) between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan
, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996. Richard Crowley
began presenting from 14 January 2010, but only on Thursdays.
Occasionally, special editions are shown on Mondays at 21:30. Major political stories, such as elections, often lead to special unscheduled editions of the programme. For example, a debate during the 2011 presidential election campaign was broadcast on a Wednesday, hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan. The debate was memorable for an outburst by Dana Rosemary Scallon
towards the end, as she read out a prepared statement announcing that a "malicious" and "false" accusation has been made against her and her family in the United States and, while refusing to divulge any details, she said she would leave "no stone unturned" in her mission to track down the person or organisation responsible. Scallon was visibly upset and was comforted by other candidates.
The programme is also available on the Internet
from the RTÉ website
, with episodes dating back a number of years.
Ian Kehoe from Enniscorthy
was elevated to the team of presenters in 2011.
The veteran long-term presenter of the series, Brian Farrell
, retired in 2004. Other previous presenters have included Olivia O'Leary
and Éamonn Lawlor. Mark Little
presented the programme from 2002. He left in 2009 to pursue another career. Vincent Browne
presented the programme in November 2000. Kevin Rafter
has reported.
series. Initially, Prime Time went out on Thursday nights only, and was presented by people such as Olivia O'Leary
, John Bowman
and Pat Kenny
. This was part of a shake-up of RTÉ's current affairs output, in which Brian Farrell presented a Sunday night programme (Farrell), and Tuesday nights featured a documentary strand (Tuesday File). However after a few years these programmes were re-integrated into Prime Time, which now follows an identical format to the Today Tonight programme it replaced.
defended her Moriarty Tribunal
leak and her support for businessman Denis O'Brien
on Prime Time. Within days she had lost her job with The Irish Times
.
A spin-off series, Prime Time Investigates, used to be shown on Monday nights in short seasons of four to six episodes, featuring what was considered by RTÉ to have been investigative journalism
and undercover
reporting. This was suspended in 2011 after RTÉ's Aoife Kavanagh
defamed Fr. Kevin Reynolds
in an episode aired on RTÉ One with the title, "Mission to Prey
", during which Kavanagh falsely accused Fr. Kevin Reynolds of raping a woman and fathering a child in Kenya
. Director-General of RTÉ
Noel Curran
admitted the broadcasting of "Mission to Prey" was "one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made" at RTÉ.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
news analysis, current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
on Tuesday and Thursday nights (reducing to once a week in the summer) between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan
Miriam O'Callaghan is an Irish television current affairs broadcaster, chat show host and radio presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has presented the leading current affairs show, Prime Time, since 1996, and her own chat show, Saturday Night with Miriam, since 2005...
, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996. Richard Crowley
Richard Crowley (Irish journalist)
Richard Crowley is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. He formerly worked as Middle East Correspondent for RTÉ News and Current Affairs. He currently works on the This Week radio programme and began presenting the Prime Time television programme with Miriam O'Callaghan from 14 January 2010.-...
began presenting from 14 January 2010, but only on Thursdays.
Occasionally, special editions are shown on Mondays at 21:30. Major political stories, such as elections, often lead to special unscheduled editions of the programme. For example, a debate during the 2011 presidential election campaign was broadcast on a Wednesday, hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan. The debate was memorable for an outburst by Dana Rosemary Scallon
Dana Rosemary Scallon
Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....
towards the end, as she read out a prepared statement announcing that a "malicious" and "false" accusation has been made against her and her family in the United States and, while refusing to divulge any details, she said she would leave "no stone unturned" in her mission to track down the person or organisation responsible. Scallon was visibly upset and was comforted by other candidates.
The programme is also available on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
from the RTÉ website
Rte.ie
RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of RTÉ's online activities, located at the URL http://rte.ie. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site, it says, is funded...
, with episodes dating back a number of years.
Content
The programme deals with serious issues current in Ireland and often invites political figures to express their opinions in the studio or via satellite link-up. Usually, two or three major stories will be covered, with a report from a correspondent followed by a studio discussion. In special cases the entire programme will be devoted to one topic, and may consist entirely of an in-depth documentary piece from a single reporter.Presenters
Prime Time is currently presented by one or two people from the following panel:- Miriam O'CallaghanMiriam O'CallaghanMiriam O'Callaghan is an Irish television current affairs broadcaster, chat show host and radio presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She has presented the leading current affairs show, Prime Time, since 1996, and her own chat show, Saturday Night with Miriam, since 2005...
- Richard CrowleyRichard Crowley (Irish journalist)Richard Crowley is an Irish journalist and broadcaster. He formerly worked as Middle East Correspondent for RTÉ News and Current Affairs. He currently works on the This Week radio programme and began presenting the Prime Time television programme with Miriam O'Callaghan from 14 January 2010.-...
- Donogh Diamond
- Keelin Shanley
Ian Kehoe from Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy is the second largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. The population of the town and environs is 9538. The Placenames Database of Ireland sheds no light on the origins of the town's name. It may refer either to the "Island of Corthaidh" or the "Island of Rocks". With a history going...
was elevated to the team of presenters in 2011.
The veteran long-term presenter of the series, Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell
Brian Farrell is an Irish author, journalist, academic & broadcaster.-Early life:Although born in Manchester, England, Farrell moved to Dublin, Ireland during the Second World War. He was educated in Ireland at , Dublin, University College Dublin and Harvard University in the United States...
, retired in 2004. Other previous presenters have included Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin, she worked with the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow...
and Éamonn Lawlor. Mark Little
Mark Little (Irish journalist)
Mark Little is an Irish journalist, television presenter, author and "social media visionary". He presented Prime Time for RTÉ until December 2009. He took a year of leave of absence from RTÉ to pursue a project centred around digital media and global journalism...
presented the programme from 2002. He left in 2009 to pursue another career. Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....
presented the programme in November 2000. Kevin Rafter
Kevin Rafter
Kevin Rafter is an Irish journalist and academic.He is an academic member of staff at the School of Communications, DCU, Glasnevin.He is former Political Editor and Assistant Editor of the Sunday Tribune newspaper in Dublin, political reporter with The Irish Times, political correspondent with the...
has reported.
History
Prime Time is the successor of the hugely popular Today TonightToday Tonight (Ireland)
Today Tonight is an Irish news and current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis, robust cross-examination of senior politicians and investigative reporting. The programme was brodacast on RTÉ One for the first time on Monday 6 October 1982....
series. Initially, Prime Time went out on Thursday nights only, and was presented by people such as Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary
Olivia O'Leary is an Irish journalist, writer and current affairs presenter.Educated at St Leo's College, Carlow and at University College Dublin, she worked with the Nationalist and Leinster Times in Carlow...
, John Bowman
John Bowman
John Bowman PhD is an Irish historian and a long-standing broadcaster and presenter of current affairs and political programmes with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He chaired the audience-participation political programme Questions and Answers on RTÉ One for 21 years...
and Pat Kenny
Pat Kenny
Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...
. This was part of a shake-up of RTÉ's current affairs output, in which Brian Farrell presented a Sunday night programme (Farrell), and Tuesday nights featured a documentary strand (Tuesday File). However after a few years these programmes were re-integrated into Prime Time, which now follows an identical format to the Today Tonight programme it replaced.
Controversies
On 21 March 2011, former Esat Telecom employee Sarah CareySarah Carey
Sarah Carey is a former Esat Telecom employee and former columnist for The Sunday Times and The Irish Times. She is currently a radio presenter on Newstalk and has presented for TV3...
defended her Moriarty Tribunal
Moriarty Tribunal
The Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters was an Irish Public inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry. It has revealed significant tax evasion by these and other politicians and leading...
leak and her support for businessman Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien is an Irish businessman with international connections. An Arts graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien has received a MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982, and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.O'Brien has involvement with...
on Prime Time. Within days she had lost her job with The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
.
A spin-off series, Prime Time Investigates, used to be shown on Monday nights in short seasons of four to six episodes, featuring what was considered by RTÉ to have been investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
and undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
reporting. This was suspended in 2011 after RTÉ's Aoife Kavanagh
Aoife Kavanagh
Aoife Kavanagh is a journalist with Raidió Teilifís Éireann , the Irish national radio and television broadcaster. She contributed to the RTÉ programmes Morning Ireland and Prime Time Investigates . Kavanagh made national news headlines herself in 2011 when she was at the centre of a controversy...
defamed Fr. Kevin Reynolds
Fr. Kevin Reynolds
Fr. Kevin Reynolds is an Irish Catholic priest, falsely alleged by Raidió Teilifís Éireann in its Prime Time programme, to have raped and impregnated a minor Kenyan woman named Veneraanda and fathering a child called Sheila, during his time as a missionary...
in an episode aired on RTÉ One with the title, "Mission to Prey
Mission to Prey
"Mission to Prey" is the title of an episode of the RTÉ programme Prime Time Investigates broadcast in May 2011. It was presented by RTÉ's Aoife Kavanagh....
", during which Kavanagh falsely accused Fr. Kevin Reynolds of raping a woman and fathering a child in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Director-General of RTÉ
Director-General of RTÉ
The Director-General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann is chief executive and editor in chief of RTÉ. The current Director-General is Noel Curran, and is the most senior person in the Public Service Broadcaster, Noel Curran replaced Cathal Goan in the role in February 2011.The RTÉ Board appoints the...
Noel Curran
Noel Curran
Noel Curran is a radio and television producer and current Director-General of RTÉ. He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann as a reporter in 1992 after a period working as a business journalist for Business & Finance magazine. He later produced both Kenny Live and The Late Late Show...
admitted the broadcasting of "Mission to Prey" was "one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made" at RTÉ.
External links
- Prime Time schedule
- The most recent episode of Prime Time (RealVideoRealVideoRealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
10) - Tim O'Malley on Prime Time Investigates