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Across Ireland, children are facing their first day at the new school, and there is David McCullagh, a new kid at Six One News (RTÉ One), facing his own first day. After moving from Prime Time current affairs and analysis to the teatime news boat, he joined Caitríona Perry as a co-host for the first time on Monday.
Following the uproar in the news for the past 10 days, with revelations and resignations raining down daily, McCullagh’s first day at school came on a relatively quiet news day.
But it is relative, because no day today is without incident. In the middle of the pandemic, the 6:00 pm news program is a crucial calculator for the day.
It was a very important day for Kildare, with the restrictions immediately lifted a week earlier, and the people of Kildare seemed pleased but wary of the move, based on a stabilization of cases in the county.
Aside from McCullagh’s first day, the schools themselves, both in terms of returning children and teens, and the significant reorganization of school buildings, appeared in more than one report.
The thoroughness of the school preparations was impressive, but the footage of several hallways and gymnasiums subdivided to create more classrooms was bleak and sad. The pandemic still lasts for a while and the loss of student facilities is likely to last for a considerable time; a case of underinvestment and overcrowding that returns home to rest.
Viewers might have felt it was bittersweet to see a permanent new face in Keelin Shanley’s seat, vacant since the prominent announcer died just before Covid-19 arrived.
But the shows go on, and this one fluidly and professionally covered a series of stories: the fire in a house that was being remodeled for a traveling family; convictions by drug gangs; The latest antics of Donald Trump; Van Morrison’s 75th Birthday: The threat of loss of girls’ and women’s hockey facilities in Oranmore, Co Galway, as a field can be switched from 2G to 3G to facilitate GAA games.
How is the interaction between the two hosts? What’s surprising is that the format meant there was no evidence yet: the segments switch between the two consummate presenters, and after the opening, it took more than 20 minutes before they were in the same frame together.
At a radio tee-up over the weekend, Perry spoke about how the show doles out interviews among hosts, and McCullagh’s coin came up on the first day, with Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
After the minister’s previous warnings about tipping points, he assured viewers that the county closures meant the jump from meat factory workplaces to workers’ homes had stopped before reaching the nursing homes, and that early and targeted closures worked.
At one point, Minister Donnelly said that “before schools opened, about 100 children a week tested positive,” which was an alarming statistic.
And in a quote that should be remembered, the Minister of Government said unequivocally that one of the greatest lessons from Covid was that we need decent working and living conditions. Now your government needs to do something about it, the country shouted at its televisions.
So first day at the new job, what about the eyebrows? McCullagh’s interbrow communication, worth a thousand skeptical words, has yet to make a noticeable performance at Six One. But keep an eye out.
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