Bryan Dobson
Born in Dublin in 1960, Bryan Dobson has been one of RTÉ's main news anchors for the past 14 years. A former RTÉ Business Correspondent, Bryan presented RTÉ's top-rated Nine O'Clock News before moving to the early evening Six One News, which regularly attracts up to half of the available Irish television audience.
An experienced radio and television reporter, Bryan has undertaken many home and foreign assignments for RTÉ. He has presented news programmes from throughout Ireland, as well as from the United States, Britain and continental Europe.
He says that the highlights of his career include reporting on the first post-apartheid elections in South Africa and the signing of the Good Friday Peace Agreement in Belfast in 1998.
Prior to joining RTÉ in 1987, Bryan worked for BBC Northern Ireland.
He lives in Dublin with his wife and their two children.
He was online to answer your questions on Wednesday 10 May 2006 from 1 to 2pm.
Here are Bryan's answers.
Hilary: What advice would you give a secondary school student who is thinking of Journalism as a career? Would a general Arts degree be a better choice than a Media course - especially for a 'bright' student?
Bryan: I think a general education is better, and then specialise in journalism with a postgraduate degree. But a lot of younger RTÉ journalists have primary degrees in journalism. The main thing is to get as much experience as you can wherever you can i.e. writing for school magazines, working in local radio.
Ian McCarthy: What is the most exciting story you have ever had to tell the public about?
Bryan: There has been lots of them. Stories that particularly stick out in my memory are the first South African elections in 1994, the IRA ceasefire, the Good Friday Agreement, various US presidential elections - especially 2000 - and, of course, 11 September 2001.
Ian McCarthy: What was your first job?
Bryan: My first job in broadcasting was in a pirate radio station called Radio Southside.
Jane Cregan: Hi Bryan, do you find it difficult to remain impartial and unemotional when you deal with very emotive topics every day?
Bryan: As a reporter you tend to remain detached and focused on getting the job done. So I don't find it difficult to remain impartial.
Martin McNally: I have noticed that you are extremely comfortable behind the screen. However, why have you never decided to enhance you career progression by going to Sky News.
Bryan: Why do you think I would be enhancing my career by going to Sky?
Geoff Tucker: Have you heard Gift Grub's impersonation of yourself and what do you think of it?
Bryan: I have heard it, and I think it's brilliant. In fact, a friend of mine, when he heard it for the first time, thought it was really me!
Siobhán: What do you consider the most important qualities for a journalist to have?
Bryan: Curiosity, and an interest in what is going on around you. Also, a commitment to finding out and telling the truth.
Frances: Bryan, do you have to keep up with daily events and news or do you 'just' read the news to us?
Bryan: Yes I do try to keep up with events. I think it's important to be well-informed about the issues that I am reporting on. That way you understand what you are reading and I think that comes across in the way a presenter delivers the news.
Fergus Whitney: Who was the hardest person to get a direct answer out of during a live news bulletin.
Bryan: Most politicians, most of the time!
Toby Lo: What is it about presenting the news that keeps your flame lit?
Bryan: It's because you never know from one day to the next what you will be doing. I cannot think of any other job that has as much variety and unpredictability. And I love it for that.
John: What has been your biggest breaking story while anchoring Six One?
Bryan: The 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States. It is the biggest event in my lifetime, in terms of changing world history.
Paul S: Would you rather be out reporting or in the studio?
Bryan: Right now I am happy where I am. We do try to take the news out of the studio when we can. Perhaps in the future I'll return to reporting.
Aonghus: Are you worried about people taking your place as the trend is for young people to deliver the news? Gráinne Seoighe may take your place.
Bryan: No, I don't worry. What will be, will be, and I will continue to do the job as well as I can and enjoy it as much as I can for as long as it lasts.
Jock: What do you think of the current media landscape with the likely onset of another national talk radio station?
Bryan: I think the current media scene is very exciting. It is great to see so much choice and variety. Competition is good for all of us, including RTÉ. A national talk station will be a great addition to what is available.
John: Hi Bryan, I like your work. Philip Graham once said journalism was the first draft of history. How seriously do you take your work?
Bryan: I take my work very seriously. Our requirement as broadcast journalists is to report the news as quickly as we can, but also accurately and fairly. I think the first draft of history comes much later.
Ruairi Neville: Hi Bryan. As a successful newsreader have you ever considered working on a current affairs programme similar to Tonight with Trevor McDonald in the UK?
Bryan: I still enjoy what I'm doing but if something else came along I'd give it a go.
Patrick M: Do you feel RTÉ will ever launch a dedicated news channel? On-demand news is what we all crave, but the only option for Irish breaking news is the web, local radio or international news stations.
Bryan: As far as I know, there are no plans at the moment for a dedicated news channel. It would be very expensive to do well, and perhaps at the moment not the best use of RTÉ's limited resources. We still have huge audiences for our main television news bulletins, so people still seem prepared to sit down and watch a news programme at a particular time. I think this medium is more likely to offer the opportunity to deliver news on-demand. But rolling news is something we think a lot about, and is always a possibility.
Graham: I have always wanted to know why newsreaders have a pen in their hand while reading the news. Why do you need it? Does the job not involve just looking at the camera and reading an auto cue?
Bryan: I use a pen to make notes during the programme for interviews that I might have to carry out. But it's also a prop and I feel uncomfortable without it.
Brian Byrne: Just a short question really. I would like to know what story or event have you had to cover that really upset you?
Bryan: The Dunblane massacre in 1996 when a gunman broke into a primary school in Scotland and shot dead 16 infant pupils and their teacher. My children were the same age as the children who died.
Patrick: Who was your toughest interview?
Bryan: After the Section 31 restriction was lifted, there was a lot of attention on how RTÉ would interview members of Sinn Féin. So I would say interviews with Sinn Féin members during that period were particularly challenging.
Maria Daly: As a presenter of the news do you think that you are taking a back seat in journalism as you don't research news stories? Is this what you wanted out of the job?
Bryan: I try to be as involved as I can in the preparation of the 6.1 News, giving my opinion on what stories we should be doing and how we should be doing them. So I don't take a back seat. Ask my editor!
Niall Doheny: Favourite place in the world outside Ireland?
Bryan: The United States.
Lloyd: When you were younger did you have aspirations to become involved in media and broadcasting?
Bryan: I was in school when I decided I wanted to be a journalist. During Transition Year, I helped make a radio programme and from then on I wanted to work in broadcasting.
Declan: I notice your questioning approach in short time frames lacks more and more incisiveness, established facts repeated. Are you open to constructive criticism, and do you, as I do, sense complacency, a lack of competition for your position and overfamiliarity with the Irish establishment?
Bryan: Short interviews are the hardest, because you don't have as much time as you'd like to really probe the interviewee. So you have to be even better prepared than in a longer interview. I do find it frustrating sometimes that we have to end an interview before we've got the answers that I think viewers are entitled to. I hope I'm open to constructive criticism, and I'm certainly not complacent and certainly not irreplaceable.
Rachael: Bryan, what is your favourite memory moment of the newsroom and live coverages in the past 14 years and why?
Bryan: My favourite memory remains covering the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994. It was one of those rare moments when you could really feel optimistic about the human condition. Watching millions of black South Africans queuing, in some cases for days, to cast their votes is something I'll never forget.
Shane Scully: Hey Bryan, do you have any political ambitions, or had you?
Bryan: No, and no.
Shane: Is it possible for one to be a very good journalist without having gone to college or having a degree behind you? I believe that it's good to know what is taught in college, but you only really learn about the businness by getting out there and doing it.
Bryan: Some of the best journalists have never been near a college or university. Thankfully, journalism is still a trade you can get in to without needing a third level education. It's harder than it might have been, but still possible.
Matthew: Do you enjoy your job or can it be stressful at times?
Bryan: Both. A certain amount of stress is a good thing. I still feel anxious before going on-air on a big news day when I might not be certain how the programme is going to work out. Mind you, those are the programmes I enjoy most.
Mr J Jones: Hi Bryan, how do you feel about retirement? Have you thought about this? I have just retired.
Bryan: I'm 45, so I do think a bit about retirement, but more in terms of 'should I be putting more into my pension?'. I'd hope that even after officially retiring I could still, from time to time, get journalistic work. I hope it's that kind of job. Anyway, we're all going to be working until we are 80!
John: Hi Bryan...What book are you reading at the moment and do you tend to read political and current affairs books?
Bryan: I tend to read fiction and history. I've just finished 'The 1916 Rebellion' by Townsend.
Jonny: Hi Bryan, you all do a great job. Just wondering are there any plans to give the news studios a face lift? Also, when the news finishes, we see you all talking as the music ends the show - surely there must be times when you have to make up something to say??!! What do you typically talk about?
Bryan: We're planning a new studio set, the current one is due an update! When the news finishes we sometimes talk about stories in the news, our plans for the evening, nothing in particular really!
John: Bryan, just wanted to say that of all the news reporters on tv, you are still the best. Keep up the good work!
Bryan: Thanks very much.
David Kennedy: Bryan, when the world is in chaos around you, you still manage to keep a cool exterior and legoman haircut...what's the secret?
Bryan: Industrial strength hairspray!
Tom: Don't you think RTÉ are biased with regards to anything the US President does?
Bryan: I don't think we are. George W Bush has been a very controversial US President, not just abroad but in the US also. I think our coverage of him reflects that.
Laeg: The first time I remember seeing you on TV was for a Consumer Affairs programme on RTÉ. Did you present or participate in anything else on RTÉ?
Bryan: I don't do any other regular programmes aside from News, but I do take part in special broadcasts such as elections, the Pope's funeral last year, and the recent 1916 parade in Dublin.
Sharon: With Ireland becoming a highly multi-cultural society, do you envision a range of multi-cultural faces newscasting for us over the next 20 years?
Bryan: I think we will see more diversity on television in the future. The first thing you'll see are reporters from different cultural backgrounds, some of whom might then go on to become newscasters.
Eric: Do you think RTÉ News is doing enough to connect with people in the 16-30 age group? Often it feels pitched at a 40-plus demographic.
Bryan: We are very conscious of the risk of an age bias in our audience. So we try to deliver a news agenda that appeals to as wide an age spectrum as possible. We do have a children's news programme each afternoon. But I think you become more interested in news the older you get.
Nadine kiely: I love the news, it's my favourite programme and you're my favourite presenter! Nadine, age 15 xx
Bryan: Thanks very much Nadine, and I'm glad to see that some younger people like to watch us.
Steve P.: What do you think of criticisms that, because it must be visual and simple, TV 'news' is actually entertainment, and dumbs down those who rely on it for information?
Bryan: Just because it's visual doesn't mean it has to be simple. We will often interview our own correspondents about stories and give them a chance to explain the complexities of an issue. It might not be very visual, but we think it's important. I do think you have to guard against the temptation to dumb down. Because we are public service broadcasters it's easier for us to resist that temptation and I think that helps to guarantee quality television journalism.
Anne Doyle: You owe me a jumbo can of hairspray! Buy your own!
Bryan: Sorry about that!
