RTÉ's annual reports — with their blend of full-page celebrity photographs, charity appeal tallies and upfront waffle about “values” — appear to fit into this genre.
They form a downbeat coda of underachievement, outnumbering the 10 occasions when RTÉ was able to declare “commitment achieved” and the six times it concluded the commitment had been “largely achieved”. Another key flop was the target to “maintain public perception that RTÉ has high-quality content and services at greater than 75 per cent”. Positive perceptions have been on the slide here too. The 75 per cent figure has not been met in any of the last five years, with agreement dropping from 73 per cent in 2018 to 63 per cent last year.
Yes, the “largely achieved” commitment to “maintain average weekly reach for all RTÉ services at or above 90 per cent” for adults is not to be sniffed at and illustrates the continued importance of the public service broadcaster to Irish culture and the national discourse.