MUSIC PROMOTER John Reynolds, who runs the Pod entertainment venue in Dublin, has decided not to accept his appointment to the contracts compliance committee of the new Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
Mr Reynolds, a nephew of former taoiseach Albert Reynolds, was appointed by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan on November 30th.
But he informed the Minister in the run-up to Christmas that he would not be taking up the role.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Communications said that Mr Reynolds had cited “personal reasons” for his decision.
Calls to Mr Reynolds were not returned.
Mr Ryan has yet to nominate a replacement for Mr Reynolds.
Mr Reynolds’s appointment had raised a few eyebrows in the media industry. As a music promoter, he has been a driving force behind the Electric Picnic music festival, the owner of the Pod entertainment venue and the backer of other ventures.
This makes him a significant buyer of media advertising space.
Mr Reynolds was also part of a consortium that took a lawsuit against the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC), a predecessor of the BAI, after it decided to grant a youth licence to Spin FM rather than the Storm FM consortium. This legal challenge failed.
The BAI’s website shows that there are three members of its contract compliance committee – Prof Chris Morash of NUI Maynooth, who is its chairman; Aidine O’Reilly, managing director of Real Event Solutions; and communications consultant Edel Hackett.
Mr Reynolds owns Pod Entertainment Ltd, which runs the well-known live venue and nightclub at Harcourt Street.
Accounts for the year to the end of December 2008 show Pod Entertainment made a loss of €258,000.
Its accumulated losses stood at €875,682.
A separate company, Pod Concerts, was placed into liquidation last year following a petition by the Revenue Commissioners to wind up the business.
The Revenue was owed €800,000 in unpaid taxes.
