Noel Curran (born 13 November 1965) is an Irish radio producer, television producer and journalist who has been the director-general of the EBU - the European Broadcasting Union since October 2017. The EBU represents 115 media organisations in over 50 countries. It is based in Geneva but has offices in Brussels, Rome, Washington, New York, Beijing and Moscow. The EBU provides an international news service to its members as well as negotiating international Sports rights such as the Olympic Games for them. It also has a Technology and Innovation division, a media research unit, a Music Exchange for classical and jazz performances, as well as a lobbying and policy department. It is also responsible for the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Curran is the first Irish national to become Director General of the EBU.
Curran also served as Chairman of Eurovision Services, the former commercial subsidiary of EBU.
He previously served as the director-general ofRaidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ; Ireland's national broadcaster) from 2011 to 2016.[1] He has worked in the editorial, management and commercial areas of media.
Early life
Curran was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, where he attended both primary and secondary school. He studied communications in Dublin City University, where he specialised in Irish and international broadcasting policy, writing his final year thesis on the future of public service broadcasting.[2] He also wrote about European broadcasting policy while studying for post-grad.
Career
RTÉ
He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) as a business and investigative reporter in 1992, after a period working for Business & Finance magazine. While working at Business & Finance Curran was involved in several prominent investigations. He became deputy editor of Business & Finance two years after joining as a reporter, before leaving for RTÉ. He joined Current Affairs as a senior financial journalist before becoming a television producer.
He then became executive producer of live entertainment series and productions,[3] producing several live television shows at the Point Theatre, before being appointed as executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, held in Dublin, presented by Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley. He was a member of the EBU Eurovision group.
Senior management at RTÉ
He returned to RTÉ as editor of current affairs, where he helped launch the Prime Time Investigates series of documentaries. The series won many national and international for its documentaries during his tenure. He was editor of the award winning Mary Raftery documentaries Cardinal Secrets and Broken Trust. He spoke on Radio 1's 'Drivetime' programme about Mary Raftery's contribution to journalism after her death in January 2012.
He left RTE to become Director of an independent TV production company. While working in the independent sector he won an IFTA award for the documentary “Bad Blood” which investigated the role of international pharmaceutical companies in the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV.
In 2003, he was appointed managing director of TV, at 37 the youngest person to hold the position, according to the Irish Independent and Irish Times.[4] He led a policy of increased investment in Irish TV production during his tenure, as RTÉ's commercial income grew to its highest historic level. According to the Sunday Business Post Curran's tenure marked the first time editorial and commercial departments in TV were integrated under one managing director.
Director General of RTÉ
In March 2010, Curran left RTÉ to pursue a consultancy and other private business interests before being interviewed and then appointed DG by the RTÉ board effective from 1 February 2011.[5][6]
He returned to Dublin City University in April 2016, where he criticised Irish broadcasting policy and warned that RTÉ and public media faced a difficult financial future without changes in policy and funding.[7]
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