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  • irishtimes.com - Posted: January 5, 2009 @ 2:36 pm

    Gong! Gong! Gong! First media awards for 2009 already in!

    Jim Carroll

    The If It Walks Like A Duck And Quacks Like A Duck, Then It Is Probably A Duck award goes to…. TV3. Having bought Channel 6 for an estimated €12 million (though some On The Record sources mutter that a much lower figure may have been exchanged between the two parties), they have now rebranded C6 as 3e. All hail the mighty 3e! Uhm, that’s “e” for entertainment. Per TV3/3e chief bottle-washer David McRedmond, “we have put the two channels under a single programming team, which means that over the coming months, the schedules will become entirely complementary.” Why do I think this means we’re going to see a lot more of the Xpose gals over the coming months? And Martin King? Hey, maybe they could give the whole channel over to Vinnie….

    The If I Knew You Wanted A Jukebox, I’d Have Baked A Cake award goes to….2FM. Per yesterday’s Sunday Tribune, management have decided that the station’s afternoon shows – ie Nikki Hayes and Rick O’Shea – are to be talk-free zones. Instead of the usual features and banter between the tunes, the DJs will now simply say “that was that” and “this is this”. Having spent a couple of years actually building, developing and maintaining audiences for these shows through listener interaction (something every single show on every single radio station tries to do), the 2FM grand poobahs (Michael Cahill is the lad credited in the piece as delivering this dastardly plan) have decided that the future will be a chit-chat-free one. Sure, isn’t that what we thought digital radio was all about?

    And actually, seeing as this is really an effort to cut costs (less talk means less researchers, dontchaknow), why stop at the afternoon shows? Maybe Michael Cahill should take a look at the morning shows as well? There must be a couple of thousand euro to be saved by getting Gerry Ryan to play his favourite 2FM sessions.

    You also have to love the subtle spinning of Cahill as the man most likely to succeed John Clarke when JC calls it a day. If the incoming Head of Radio at RTE, Clare Duignan, has any gumption, she’ll nip that one in the bud and start lovebombing Liam Thompson to return to Montrose or give Mark McCabe the job. 2FM needs to be shaken, not stirred.

    And finally, the Brass Neck Of The Year award goes to… Beverley Cooper Flynn. You will not hear any better example of this noble art than that displayed by the TD in her interview with Sean O’Rourke on the News at One earlier today. Ms Cooper Flynn, currently a member of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, was defending her decision to retain an annual tax-free allowance of over €40,000 awarded to those TDs who are independents when they are elected to the Dail. I’d say the calls to Liveline were only fantastic after that one (the interview is here).

    • 18 Comments

    1.
    January 5, 2009
    2:40 pm

    Clare Duignan, has any gumption, she’ll nip that one in the bud and start lovebombing Liam Thompson to return to Montrose or give Mark McCabe the job.

    Come on Jim, she’s got a big job on her hands but she’s no maniac.

    Comment by Twenty Major
    2.
    January 5, 2009
    2:46 pm

    Twenty – Hur, hur, Poor Mark, he’s always damned for that in certain quarters.

    I think though he’d be a great choice for 2FM – a confident pair of hands who would be quite happy and determined to make the changes necessary for the station to survive. Thats what the station needs if it stands any chance of still maintaining any kind of relevance in the next 10 years. It can’t be just more continuation of the old order on the grounds that G Ryan is such a great advertising magnet (like, that will still apply in Recession 2.0?)

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    3.
    January 5, 2009
    3:10 pm

    management have decided that the station’s afternoon shows – ie Nikki Hayes and Rick O’Shea – are to be talk-free zones.

    Seriously? Ah feck. Sure the banter and listener participation were the best part of Rick’s show. He did a much better job of the morning slot than Gerry Ryan ever did. Stupid, stupid decision. Why listen to it at all so?

    Comment by Darragh
    4.
    January 5, 2009
    3:19 pm

    Darragh – The more I think about this, the more ridiculous it seems – and it’s not even April 1..

    If I just wanted to listen to music all day long, I’d stick on a few CDs, plug in my iPod or switch on 2XM. I certainly wouldn’t listen to 2FM. People listening to radio want that interaction with the DJ. I can forsee a jump in future JNLRs for Tony Fenton and Ray Foley.

    It reminds me a little of a decision which XFM took in the UK a while back to get rid of all DJs from 10pm until 6pm and just play tunes – I don’t think that lasted very long.

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    5.
    January 5, 2009
    3:21 pm

    Jim, I’m exactly the same. I don’t listen to the radio for music, I listen to find out things while I’m working.

    To have the decision made by a former DJ is what bewilders me. Surely they’re going to haemorrhage afternoon listeners, as you say. Bizarre.

    Comment by Darragh
    6.
    January 5, 2009
    3:48 pm

    It’s so stupid. I wouldn’t be surprised if they rolled back on it, to be honest.

    Do they not get that people into music don’t actually listen to commercial radio for music?

    Why are they turning 2fm into an all-music station in the afternoon when they now have digital stations that are practically all-music?

    It’s so short-sighted.

    RTE constantly bangs on about its public broadcasting remit blah blah blah, yet how can they say playing chart music all afternoon falls under public service? If Phantom – a MUSIC station, and Spin – a MUSIC station, are forced to provide talk in the afternoon, then shouldn’t 2fm stick to that too?

    Rick’s show is the only decent thing on 2fm, major blunder on their part.

    Comment by unarocks
    7.
    January 5, 2009
    4:52 pm

    David McRedmond was just on the Last Word…
    Would have been cheaper and as informative to email the Press Release for Matt Cooper to read out…

    Comment by Fill3rup
    8.
    January 5, 2009
    5:07 pm

    Many moons ago when I think RTE staff went on strike, the stations simply played music back to back and I seem to remember the figures indicating that listenership went up. I am looking for the figures to back this up, but it said an awful lot about the quality of the stations at the time.

    Comment by Lar
    9.
    January 5, 2009
    7:17 pm

    Twenty – Hur, hur, Poor Mark, he’s always damned for that in certain quarters.

    Yes indeed.

    What’s interesting is that this decision has been made by the new producer of the afternoon shows of 2FM.

    When you have people overseeing certain parts of the day instead of one person deciding on the station format it’s just a recipe for disaster. Too many chiefs, as I said elsewhere.

    Maybe he thinks the “hot hits” format will work. Except Spin are doing that and will continue to do it better. Can’t do MOR because Q102 are doing that. So some kind of bastard “Hot MOR” is what we’ll end up with and it’s a waste of guys like Rick who obviously have more talent than ‘that was, this is’.

    2FM needs someone to come in, kick it right up the arse, get rid of the dead wood – and there is a whole lot it – and start from scratch again.

    You wonder as well is this new afternoon edict trying to compensate for the 3 hours of talk in the morning with Gerry Ryan. Personally, I think the best thing any new 2FM head could do is sack that fat sack of shit or cut his time way back, at the very least.

    Comment by Twenty Major
    10.
    January 5, 2009
    7:19 pm

    You may as well have a transition year on work experience calling the shots as having Michael Cahill there. This is Rattlebag/Mystery Train gate all over again.

    Incidentally, the Bloggers Backlash is great innit? It’s the net’s answer to the Mitchell brothers. ‘Hello Mum Cahill!’

    Comment by Ciara
    11.
    January 5, 2009
    10:50 pm

    Tis a shame that the Rickster is being silenced, he is pure brilliance in the afternoon, one of the best shows on the radio. In fact, I think the station has some great DJ’s, Jenny Heuston, Dan Hegarty and Cormac Battle amongst them. Even Ruth Scott, who made me want to drive my car into a wall, when she was on the breakfast show, seems to have found her niche. As for Ray Foley being an alternative, I’d rather have knitting needles stuck in my eyes – the guy’s a moron.

    Comment by fionaoc
    12.
    January 6, 2009
    8:51 am

    Una – There are many people in RTE who look upon the public service broadcasting remit as a curse

    Fill3rup – I wonder will corporate stonewalling survive the recession?

    Lar – Exactly. The gameplan has changed and pop radio audiences expect that interaction between the tunes. If they just want non-stop music, there’s the internet

    Twenty – But will the new Head of Radio have the balls to do that, to start from scratch? Or will any new 2FM chief – and remember no-one has said John Clarke is going anywhere – just stay with the status quo because Gerry Ryan keeps on pulling in the advertising cash? There’s nothing new about 2FM’s inertia – this has been going on since 2000/2001

    Ciara – If I was michael cahill, i’d start a blog

    fionac – But Ray Foley is an alternative and he’s pulling in the numbers too in that lunchtime slot with the same package of interaction and features which Rick O’Shea has used to build his audience share. I rarely listen to music radio during daytime hours because (a) I prefer my own musical choices and (b) I know better than all daytime DJs about that (sorry lads and lasses), but if I was listening to daytime muic radio, I’d want something more than “that was” and “this is”

    Comment by Jim Carroll
    13.
    January 6, 2009
    12:15 pm

    Speaking of 2009 awards is there going to be a Choice award this year Jim?

    Comment by Mumblin Deaf Ro
    15.
    January 6, 2009
    2:30 pm

    Huzzah!

    Comment by Mumblin Deaf Ro
    16.
    January 6, 2009
    3:04 pm

    But will the new Head of Radio have the balls to do that, to start from scratch? Or will any new 2FM chief – and remember no-one has said John Clarke is going anywhere – just stay with the status quo because Gerry Ryan keeps on pulling in the advertising cash? There’s nothing new about 2FM’s inertia – this has been going on since 2000/2001

    Of course no new chief will do that, but like you say there’s not going to be a new chief anyway.

    I think the point I was trying to make though was that one person should decide the format of the radio station. Obviously allowing people a little bit of creative freedom is no bad thing but to let somebody come in and wipe out the entire afternoon like that is nonsense.

    Comment by Twenty Major
    17.
    January 8, 2009
    7:56 am

    Channel 4 -> E4… TV3 -> 3e…

    …

    Have I just unearthed a hitherto undiscovered culture of unoriginality at TV3?

    Comment by Dave
    18.
    January 22, 2009
    9:17 am

    Maybe Gerry Ryan is behind it all – tired of all the talented people showing him up, or perhaps he just wants to be the only voice heard on the radio.

    Comment by David

    Comments on this article are now closed.


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