RTE has been heavily criticised for trying to get convicted dealer, John Gilligan to appear on The Late Late Show.
The 64-year-old, who has spent over a decade in prison for various drug charges, was asked by the national broadcaster to appear on the show to “highlight some of the issues” around his “legal battles”.
John took to his own personal blog to share a picture of a hand-written letter sent to him by the national broadcaster asking him on the show.
This invitation did not sit well with Jimmy Guerin, brother of murdered journalist Veronica Guerin, and he has spoken out slating the national broadcaster.
“I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the national broadcaster, who has been targeted for legal action in the past by Gilligan, would invite him on,” Jimmy told the Irish Independent.
“That they would want to give him airtime is sad. I think it shows just how desperate The Late Late Show is for ratings, that they would invite him on the show rather than respecting [journalistic colleague Veronica].”
However, a source has said that the station has broached controversial topics and people in the past, and they don’t see a problem with interviewing the convicted drug dealer.
“RTE would consider writing a letter to Gilligan a valid journalistic endeavour.” the source told the Irish Independent.
“The show has a history of covering controversial subject matter and topics. The Late Late Show has a history of dealing with current affairs issues and controversial guests.”
When asked to comment on the issue, RTE released a statement saying,”As a policy, RTE do not comment on editorial issues.”
