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Robert sweeps the board


RTÉ Prime Time reporter Robert Shortt has been elected to the board of RTÉ in a by-election caused by the departure from the organisation of outgoing worker director Aengus MacGrianna. Following a lively election campaign, Robert


topped the poll with fellow Dublin broadcasting branch member Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh runner up. Both NUJ members secured support from


across the workforce. Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley said the combined vote of the top two candidates was a reflection of the work done on the ground in RTÉ by union members. He also paid tribute to Aengus for his service as a board member and former chapel officer. Robert celebrates 20 years in RTÉ this


year. He joined the RTÉ newsroom in May 1998 and has been FOC of the Current Affairs chapel since 2012. In September last year he stepped down as chair of the RTÉ sub branch and as vice chair of the Trade Union Group. In the latter role he was part of the negotiating team that secured pay restoration in 2015. He has worked in various roles in the


newsroom and served as business correspondent and Washington correspondent prior to joining Prime Time.


Robert Shortt Photo: RTE File


Dublin Broadcasting stands up for Palestinian journalists


On April 12th, the Dublin Broadcasting Branch held a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Ballsbridge in protest at Israeli attacks on journalists, including the shooting and killing of Palestinian journalist Yaser Murtaja.


Thirty-year-old Yaser, who was wearing a vest clearly marked, "Press", was shot by Israeli forces as he documented the recent Great Return March demonstrations. The post-work demonstration was organised


at short notice and was addressed by RTÉ's former Middle East Correspondent Richard Crowley, former RTÉ producer and human rights activist Betty Purcell, Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley, and Oonagh Smyth of RTÉ; and chaired by branch chair Emma O'Kelly. Addressing the gathering, Richard spoke


movingly about how western media relied heavily on local Palestinian journalists, and of the much greater risks those local journalists exposed themselves to in order to cover the story.


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