It's easy to slag off the national broadcaster's yoof station, when you have complete non-yoofs like Gerry Ryan featuring as the most important dude on their schedule, but their latest move to ban talk from daytime programming is just ridiculous.Ken Sweeney wrote about it in yesterday's Sunday Tribune.
What are they thinking about removing non-music items from Nikki Hayes and Rick O'Shea's programmes? Rick's programme is one of the best radio programmes on Irish radio. It's well-researched, interesting, stimulating, audience inclusive, intelligent and what daytime radio should be all about. Rick has built a solid, loyal and passionate audience because of the topics he covers, the interesting way his programme looks at things, and because he wisely views radio as a two way form of interaction by constantly bouncing off the audience and allowing them to contribute, comment and get involved with whatever item he's covering.
Seriously 2fm, get it together.
20 comments:
The place is a shambles. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians. And one big, living in the dark ages twat over the whole lot of it. Playing his Radio Nova jingle on a Sunday in an excersise of pure self-indulgence.
They've long not had a clue, this just confirms it.
I don't listen to 2FM for the music, and I won't be listening to 2FM for the music.
Clearly RTE have their heads shoved right up their own asses.
There was a telling line in the Tribune article saying that there would now be ONE researcher working across three shows...that's at least two less researchers than usual, so RTE are saving money that way.
Bad move, I think they'll find that the majority of listeners want more than just music, they want interactive content, phone ins, etc.
Sigh.
I just don't get it. Anyone in radio/TV/general media with an interest in radio will tell you that Rick's show is brilliant at what it does, above and beyond any other youth content on Irish radio.
What's the point in employing talented people and then have them going, "and that was The Script, now for some Duffy" for a few hours?
RE: RTE saving money; it's not as if researchers are well paid. If they REALLY wanted to save money, then they'd kick out people whom they pay half a mil or more for every year. I'd prefer to have half a dozen shows well researched, with stimulating content, than one lazily presented programme by a 'personality.'
Would they not make more money via a slice of the text message revenue that they get in from audience reaction to on-air items instead of hoping that people might be listening on-line and that they might click a track to purchase it? That idea is bullshit anyway. If someone is at their pc, they're going to buy songs through iTunes, not go to the bother of going through some convoluted 3rd-party add-on to an already shoddy website like 2fm.
Plus, if 2fm is a YOOF RADIO station where is the young blood? Michael Cahill? The guy is a wedding dj at best. How can someone without a notion of pop-culture and music dictate a mandate for 2fm?
I am a today fm listener by the way. Gave up on 2fm years ago due to the idle banter. This move however ensures that it will be even worse!
B-Dogg
2FM is a shambles if Rick O'Shea's show is considered to be intelligent? Such inane drivel on that show. And I'm in the media although I fail to see how being in the media would make you think that rick is brilliant.
2Fm has been woeful for years, the powers that be have no idea what to do with it.
@ nerraw: I sort of meant anyone with knowledge/interest in radio. Anyone I know who works in radio or beyond thinks it's a great show. Obviously it's not to your taste but I'd hardly call it "inane drivel".
Hang on whaaaaaaaaa????
RTE employ all of their big kahunas on multi-year "talent contracts", so they're not considered employees proper. Ryan Tubridy (who earned €300k in 2006) was interviewed in Saturday's Times and asked if he'd take a pay cut given RTE's circumstances. His response? "No. I think the 3 per cent levy is enough, my contribution to the Government."
They's bad times at RTE, all round.
If they're not going to let the Rick and Nikki talk then what's the point in having them at all? My choice of radio station is governed by the personalities on air along with the music they play. I think this move will cost 2FM listeners. The Tribune article also mentions the new 2FM website as a driver in the decision. Can't see how they expect to drive sales of music online if nobody is bothered to tune in in the first place.
The researchers on the 2FM shows in question have just been redeployed within RTE so it's not a matter of saving money. it's a very strange decision - whatever about cutting back on content, but cutting it out entirely?!
I know the big presenting guns in RTE aren't technically 'employees' of the broadcaster. However, they are still paid by the broadcaster.
The fact that presenters at the top level should get paid that much is a complete joke. Where else can they go to get paid those amounts? It's not as if there's huge competition to sign them. Other national broadcasters; TV3, Today FM or Newstalk could never afford those salaries, so they should be paid in accordance with how much they are worth.
Pat Kenny earns a million a year. Even if that was halved - because there's no way he'd get €500,000 anywhere else - it would allow for the employment of probably around 12 2fm researchers.
There's also a problem with the 'civil service' attitude in RTE. The saying goes: it's harder to get in, and harder to get out. Bad employees at RTE are never fired, just shifted around. As a result you have a situation where there's loads of incompetent people in employment, and too many people doing the same job.
That said, I know plenty of people employed by RTE who work really, really hard (probably because they're younger, and probably because they're working their way up the ladder so don't have time to be on the doss).
I don't think RTE's problem is with their foot soldiers, I think the problems are with having very few 'ideas people' at the top.
Going to go against the grain. I reckon this us great Less talk is good, more music is not "dumbing down" it's just more music. A pop radio station should play lots of pop music, I'm not listening for a the amazing philosophical insights of some DJ. Rick O'Shea = inane drivel. I mean you still want the presence of a DJ between songs, but when a pop station DJ believes the music is secondary to whatevers on his mind, then that's annoying.
Now if only they could get less talk in the MORNING shows. Seriously, what's the deal with Irish radio and endless yakking about nothing between 9am and 1PM? Today FM, 2FM and RTE1 and most local radio stations all broadcasting talk shows AT THE SAME TIME, never mind the fact that there's NewsTalk too. Most of it is whingeradio phone in shows too. It's not exactly BBC Radio 4 style public broadcasting is it? It's no wonder I just listen to MP3s in the car in the morning or in the evening "drivetime" slots.
The selling music via the 2FM website idea is pretty stupid unless they can pull of a decently priced user friendly music store along the lines of 7digital.
"The selling music via the 2FM website idea is pretty stupid unless they can pull of a decently priced user friendly music store along the lines of 7digital."
I think this idea is just another RTE reactionary "OMG the Internet is on computers now" kind of thing. It also signals another blip on the increased commercialisation of RTE. Bad enough practically every TV programme either has to be text message driven or sponsored by Appletiser, but should the State broadcaster really be planning to hawk music in this fashion? What slice of the pie will RTE get from tracks sold? And what's the point of it? Is it actually a user service, or just another way to skim cash?
Selling music on the 2FM site does seem ridiculous. If they can get producing quality shows right how are they going to compete with Amazon or iTunes or any of the other online distributors? If they took the money they're investing in this new site and poured it into the shows they'd probably be a lot better off.
They're going to have a new TV news studio in the next couple of weeks, which should be interesting to see.
Anything that doesn't have a backdrop that looks like something used by a 2-bit photographer at a Turkish debs should be an improvement.
I really don't see what the problem is. 2FM will play more music, GREAT! I don't see why this is a bad thing?
I don't care what samanatha from Rathmines texted Rick, or that Paul from Cork is studying for the leaving cert and says hi to all at st mercys college. It's inane rubbish. Play some music and keep your hilarious texts to yourself.
@ nerraw: do you listen to Rick's show? It's a demonstration in when daytime talk radio can be done well. Regarding 'shout out' texts, one would imagine the end of any thought-out talk content will mean that the kind of talk you mention will be all that remains between tracks.
NO!!!
I can't believe they'd axe Rick's show... it's like a cornerstone of Irish society, a way of linking us together through our own inane experiences!
'What's the strangest thing you've seen today?' 'What's the last thing you tore up?' 'When did you last tell your partner you love them?'
Okay so these aren't important questions as such, but they're a way of reminding us all to stay humble, that nobody's perfect. I love it.
Totally agree about Pat The Plank's and Gerry Ryan's salaries too, they seem somewhat unjust given current circumstances.
Re: Daytime Radio being talk orientated. The main reason I listen to the radio at work is for talk. The music played during the daytime is horrendous. 2FM is notorious in this regard. Have you ever heard Larry Gogan play Rhythm is a Dancer followed by Cotton Eye Joe? That sums it up in a nutshell.
What I'm saying is, that I'll fire my iPod on if I want to hear good music during the day and turn to the Radio if I want to hear some discussion/features.
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