Mark Little, the Prime Time presenter, says he is not leaving RTE "in a huff" but was inspired by former colleague George Lee's decision to quit earlier this year.
It was reported recently that Little was unhappy that Miriam O'Callaghan, his co-host on Prime Time, got "three times" his salary for the same job. O'Callaghan was paid 301,667 last year.
Speaking on Friday about his decision to set up a new-media website, Little said: "It's like when George Lee left, he said at the time he'd always look back and ask, 'what did I do in the crisis?'
"I don't have the same high-falutin' political ambitions as George but in 20 years' time I don't want someone to ask, 'why didn't I do that?' and kick myself."
RTE will hold open a position for Little for one year. His leave of absence starts at the end of 2009. "I am trying to form what will hopefully be a business and a social-media hub that will allow people be part of the process of making global news as much as consuming it," said Little. "Prime Time is about the best thing going on television in Ireland, but I felt I had to give this a go."
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A regular user of Twitter, Little said his project was only possible because of new technology and social media websites. "The technology is so cheap. Ten years ago when I was travelling to war zones, you brought a 100,000 camera and four staff. Now anyone with an iPhone or a flip-camera is a correspondent."
Little's free website will act as a filter for news. He hopes his venture will make money by selling content to media and phone operators.
"There is a massive market out there," he said. "There is no better time to put Ireland on the map."