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Since 1990, AA staff have broadcast AA Roadwatch from their studios in Suffolk Street, Dublin. They write their own scripts, and have complete editorial freedom. They haven’t even given RTÉ a copy of their ‘broadcasting guidelines’.
The AA are lobbyists for the car industry, and Conor Faughnan has become the best-know campaigner in the country, as he calmly explains that only the car can answer Ireland’s transport problems.
His campaigning is bolstered AA Roadwatch. When the Stillorgan Quality Bus Corridor opened in 1999, AA Roadwatch almost ran out of adjectives to describe the congestion it caused. Nothing was said about the thousands of commuters speeding to work on the new service.
On the day of the Dublin Bus strike, AA Roadwatch gleefully reported that ‘traffic is much better today because cars are allowed to use the bus lanes’. Allowing cars to use bus lanes is one of Conor Faughnan’s key demands.
William Campbell is set to challenge RTÉ and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission in court, demanding that the AA should be treated equally to all other pressure groups.
More information about the case can be found at his website, www.aaroadwatch.net, which also contains the names, and email addresses of the people responsible. He can be contacted at william@esatclear.ie or (01) 473 8078
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