What has "No Frontiers" got against Ryanair.

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BOXtheFOX

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I was watching the No Frontiers holiday programme on RTE last night, they were doing a piece on La Rochelle. At the end of the piece they said that to get there you could fly to Bordeaux with Aer Lingus for circa €99.

No mention was made of the fact that Ryanair fly direct in to La Rochelle airport, a short bus ride from the town, and very cheaply!

I have noticed this for other destinations that they feature. Have they something against Ryanair or is Aer Lingus paying a fee to be mentioned?
 
I only watch the program occasionally, but to me it appears that at the end of a segment they only mention the carrier/hotel/operator that they went with, and not a list of options. So yes, there is probably some form of advertising involved.
 
I noticed this too yesterday, it was as if we had gone back in time. The section on London (may have been a repeat from previous week) seemed to indicate no-one else flew there other than Aer Lingus - the very least they should do is to state that other flight options are available.
 
I think it likely that they get freebies from airlines and hotels, and the quid pro quo is giving them a mention in the programme.

If they adopted a policy of mentioning all air carriers, they wouldn't get freebies, and they also might get into difficulty if they overlooked one airline. And the ferry companies might feel aggrieved.

And as for the bit where they say "We stayed in the Hotel Bellecourt". Would they have to list every other hotel and chambres d'hôtes in town?

Ryanair get their cheap publicity by other methods.
 
dereko1969 said:
But it should be made obvious that that is the case.
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How obvious? It's a while since I last watched the programme, so I am not conversant with how they express things. Is it okay if they say something like "We flew with Aer Lingus to Bordeaux and got a train from there to La Rochelle." or do they have to say "We got a freebie for our crew of four people from Aer Lingus"?
 
Either way, It seems to me that few (if any) people like to do Ryanair any favours. I mean has anyone got a good word to say about them, ever, except Mick himself?
 
Had a slot last week on Carcassonne and not a mention of ryanair flying from Dublin and Cork
there. Just mentioned Aer Lingus.
 
Padraigb said:
or do they have to say "We got a freebie for our crew of four people from Aer Lingus"?
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As the show is been funded by the taxpayer I would expect a cetrain amount for transparency.


TV3/SKY can shill all they want , I am not mandated by law to fund them.
 
Brendan said:
Is it not still funded by the taxpayer?
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By a combination of licence-payers and advertisers (and I accept that the licence is a form of tax).

But RTE do not make the programme, and have, I believe, a somewhat lower editorial responsibility than if they made it themselves. I would not argue that they have no responsibility at all, but it would be unreasonable for them to micro-manage all the firms from whom they purchase programmes. Can you imagine them having an officer in Hollywood advising on content and editorial values in all the programmes they buy from there? [Mind you, it might make Charlie Bird's life more interesting.]
 
Padraigb said:
How obvious? It's a while since I last watched the programme, so I am not conversant with how they express things. Is it okay if they say something like "We flew with Aer Lingus to Bordeaux and got a train from there to La Rochelle." or do they have to say "We got a freebie for our crew of four people from Aer Lingus"?
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If I were planning a holiday to La Rochelle and there was a holiday programme being screened about La Rochelle for Irish viewers I would expect the programme to at least mention the fact that there is an airport in La Rochelle with an Irish airline flying in to it. Why mention Bordeaux airport at all?
 
BOXtheFOX said:
If I were planning a holiday to La Rochelle and there was a holiday programme being screened about La Rochelle for Irish viewers I would expect the programme to at least mention the fact that there is an airport in La Rochelle with an Irish airline flying in to it. Why mention Bordeaux airport at all?
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I wouldn't, because I am broadly aware of how such things work.

If I became interested in a destination because of a travel programme or a piece in a newspaper or magazine, I would do my own research into travel options.
 
Padraigb said:
The show is not made by RTE. They buy it in from Frontier Films.
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Would it be more correct to say that RTE commissioned the programme from Frontier Films? Its not as if TV3 or any other TV station has an equal right to purchase the show from Frontier Films. As the commissioning agent, RTE are responsible for the content.
 
csirl said:
Would it be more correct to say that RTE commissioned the programme from Frontier Films? Its not as if TV3 or any other TV station has an equal right to purchase the show from Frontier Films.
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Fair point. Agreed.

As the commissioning agent, RTE are responsible for the content.
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It's a question of where lines are drawn, and I think it's not an easy one. RTE has some responsibility for the content, just as they have some responsibility for the content of everything they broadcast. But I think they have a bit less responsibility than if they made the programme themselves.

This discussion is really a subset of a bigger question, that of "product placement". Firms work to get their product in the public eye whatever way they can -- for example, beer bottles on a bar in a popular soap opera. The money or the free goods or services that the firms provide for this benefit is part of the budget for making the programme.
 
A word very often used on AAM is BALANCE. Didn't see the programme but on reading this it looks like a plug for Aer Fungus. About two weeks ago you could book La Rochelle return for less than €60 on Ryanair. I know because I had looked at going to Ile de Yeu for a few days but dates didn't work out. Like the labelled whiskey bottle, labelled cigarette pack, labelled sunglasses etc in films, one would imagine a kick back of some nature for a mention.
 
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