Independent Irish broadcaster TV3’s decision to close its Northern Ireland office has caused considerable surprise.
A reporter and a cameraman at the bureau in Belfast are among the staff of 13 of a total workforce of 160 which the broadcaster plans to sack.
It blames the need to cut operating budgets on the impact on the market of RTE’s recent licence-fee increase, saying that the “unrestricted use of such funds”, about which it has made official complaints, has given rise to “market distortions that have negatively affected potential advertising revenues.”
Irish secretary of the NUJ, Seamus Dooley,ø said the reason given by the station for its action was “spurious”.
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