New boss makes his first changes at 2fm
Jim Carroll
New 2fm boss John McMahon has finished kicking the tyres and has made his first changes at the station.
Let’s start with the Monday to Friday schedule. No changes on the breakfast or mid-morning shifts – that would be Colm Hayes and JimJimJimJimJimJimJimJim followed by G Ryan. At lunchtime, it’s Rick O’Shea with what the press release calls an “interactive” show from noon to 3pm. “Whether you Facebook, Tweet or text, Rick wants to hear from you”. Strike one for the Rickster who was actually doing a show as described off his own bat until he was told by The Previous Management to stop it and just say give the name of the record he just played. Interactive stuff, it’s so 2010.
Then, it’s the return of that man Larry Gogan with the Golden Hour, including the Just A Minute quiz, from 3pm. The nicest man in Irish radio was badly shafted by The Previous Management and then went on to prove that he still has an audience with his weekend show. Ironically, The Previous Management were then forced to big up Larry’s impressive weekend figures in their quarterly post-JNLR press releases.
Will Leahy gets an extended drivetime slot (4pm-7pm), followed by two hours of Dave Fanning (7pm-9pm). Then, there’s a brand new two hour show for Dan Hegarty, the thinking man and woman’s Peter Crouch, from 9pm. Dude may actually get home before midnight for once. Damien Farrelly gets to lock up the station after his show finishes.
There you have, an all-male line-up for 2fm from Monday to Friday.
At the weekends, there’s a Saturday morning show with the Galway-based Beavis and Butthead, Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin, new slots for Ruth Scott and Nikki Hayes, a two hour gallop through the world of Dave Fanning every Saturday afternoon (blimey, they’re working him hard) and “party nights on 2fm with Jenny Greene, Jenny Huston and Mr Spring” every Friday and Saturday nights.
The changes take effect from early January.
Tommy Tiernan and Hector – hell on a stick ! What, is one of them not sufficient punishment on a Saturday morning ?
, there’s a Saturday morning show with … Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin,
This is presumably some sort of parody new 2FM schedule that you’ve concocted Jim. If so you went too far with this one and have given the game away. If not then Jesus Christ.
I may have to start making disparaging comments (that may or may not be taken out of context) about “The Jews,” it’s obviously how you get ahead.
punk – could be worse, they could have given a show to Dave McSavage too
Ian – no, it’s happening, baby. On the Shabbat too, for shame.
could be worse, they could have given a show to Dave McSavage too
Only a matter of time, I’m sure. His cuz will see him right.
Good to see Rick get the gig he deserves. Shame they haven’t done anything about the egomaniac who’s on before him though.
I’m made listen to Colm and Jim Jim most mornings in the car, it drives me insane some days.
Twenty – Shame they haven’t done anything about the egomaniac who’s on before him though
I think a Facebook campaign is called for. I believe they’re all the Rage. That or a two piece feature in the Sunday Times.
JC – I can thankfully count on my thumbs the number of times i’ve had to listen to that excuse for a radio show. Both times in a taxi too.
So no changes really then?
Rick O’Shea, he’s so down with the kids. I’m baffled as to why Irish bloggers like him so much, maybe it’s because he’s their ‘friend’ on facebook/twitter?
As much as I despise McSavage, his new RTE show is brilliant, very very funny.
i’m with nerraw re- rick o’shea and mcsavage’s new show…
nerraw – I certainly dont like Rick O’Shea just because he’s a blogger and I dont have Facebook friends so it’s not that either.
As a radio disc-jockey, and regardless of the music he plays, he’s on point, engaging and manages to make his audience more of a community. Some Irish DJs have this talent/quality – Ian Dempsey is the absolute master at this – and some just don’t (Colm Hayes and JimToThePowerOfABillion, Nikki Hayes, Will Leahy, Ray Darcy, G Ryan, everyone on FM104 and 98FM etc).
When it comes to MUSIC, though, I’m a fussy bollox and I prefer my own choices at home. But on those occasions when I don’t have the choice, I tend to gravitate towards DJs who don’t annoy the fuck out of me. They’re a rarity. I can tell you.
Then again, radio is all about personal choice and one man’s Rick O’Shea may be another man’s Dave Fanning or Tommy Tiernan. Totally understandable.
Morning radio is horrible. I’d rather put my balls in a vice than wake up listening to 2fm.
Rick is the best DJ on 2FM….I’d go as far to say that he is one of the finest DJs this country has produced, along with Ian Dempsey and Larry Gogan.
It’s great to see Larry back on duty 5 days a week….Irish bands will clock up some prime time airplay now that Larry is back.
It will be interesting to see if John Clarke’s Sunday Oldie Show stays or not!!!
Jim,
Did I ever tell you about HeartFM in London – the 2FM of the city-going-pleb.
They gloriously started playing Christmas songs on November 15th (or something like that).
I sent them a letter of complaint and in return they entered into a competition to win Whitney Houston concert tickets – do you think 2FM might afford me the same luxury??
i read in the metro that the duckworth lewis method boys have got their own show at the weekend
Eddie – no word on the survival or demise of Ireland’ Biggest Jukebox in the press release – will have a look at the schedule
Leigh – did you win?
petee – from the press release – sounds like they’re the first guests in the show to me
“On Sundays, Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh of The Duckworth Lewis Method (and Divine Comedy) will kick-off Celebrity Sunday, a new strand of programmes where well-known lovers of music share their own personal mix-tape.”
Jim,
Nope, just got higher blood pressure
Gerry Ryan
Larry Gogan
Dave Fanning
all in their old slots
cutting edge stuff…
2FM should have pilfered the Ray Foley show.
Then I could just delete 90 – 92 FM from my ether
Erm, so that would be no real changes then. It seems the new boss at 2 FM is also afraid of making wholesale changes to the schedule, preferring instead to do a little bit of tinkering here and there to keep everyone happy. 2 FM badly needs someone to come in and do a major cull as Matthew Bannister did with BBC Radio 1 in the nineties. First to go….Gerry Ryan and those two idiots in the morning.To be honest, I couldn’t care less about 2 FM and never tune in. It’s an awful station that’s had an identity crisis for years.
At least 2fm have got their act together with the Replay or Listen Again functionality (not talking about Podcast).
Ideally Phantom or TodayFM would have this to catch the evening shows the next day at work (I am not giving up Off the Ball on Newstalk which needs to be listened to live) .
Until they do I will be giving the Fanning/Hegarty Replays a go.
Jim – If 2fm can do this do you know why the guys oven on Phantom cant? With their award winning website they obviously have the technical clout.
I’m surprised anyone listens to broadcast radio anymore (certainly not readers of this blog).
They should have given Rick O’Shea the graveyard shift, ‘social media engagement’ is one of the stupidest concepts out there and just plays into the hands of twitter/facebook attention seeking whores.
Its a bit odd having perfectly good presenters sidelined to the weekends when people are not trapped in their cars with nothing better to do than flick through the radio stations. Surely Ruth Scott would make a better fist of the 4-7 slot than Will Leahy?
Love Rick by the way.
PG – Today FM have had their Listen Again facility together for quite some time – you could always listen back to Donal Dineen’s show and, for the last few months, you can also listen back to Paul McLoone and Alison Curtis’ shows.
You also ask why Phantom haven’t done this – per station management, it comes down to the cost of licence arrangements for this with IMRO. If you’re Today FM and you’re owned by Communicorp who own and control many radio stations, you obviously carry far more clout and can cut a better deal than a lone local station like Phantom
Alison – oddly weekend listenership figures for ALL stations are quite high.
Jim – I stand corrected with the TodayFM Listen again facility. Thanks.
Not exactly easy to find though.
Found it on Paul McLoone’s homepage – will be good to listen in the next day now.
http://todayfm.com/Shows/Weekdays/Paul-McLoone/PaulArchive.aspx
http://www.todayfm.com/Shows/Weekdays/Alison-Curtis/Archive.aspx
And thanks for info re Phantom. Would be decent of IMRO to give the smaller operations a break.
I don’t annoy the fuck out of you Jim?
That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. I’ll try not to let you down mi amigo.
Rick babe – how could a cherub like yourself annoy me, eh?
Happy chirstmas dude. Now play Lord Beginner “Christmas Morning The Rum Had Me Yawning” and I’ll be happy forever
Bit harsh on Ray Darcy, no? I think he’s been pretty good at builidng a “community” rather than just an audience?
Big fan of Rick O’Shea too, but that’s just cos he’s my Facebook buddy!
disappointing . change was needed , and they missed the boat there i feel . course its easy to slag , but who would you have if you could make the changes ? do we have the talent ?
personally, this is what i’d do and ill even be considerate of the masses , coz obviously benjamins and moirketing are vital to the process…
Paul McLoone evening time . Sharp , witty presenter, plays good music and gets me listening and i wouldnt if it was anyone else
Donal Dineen – 12-3am slot . always fresh, always interesting, totally unique. A national institution . Much like 2fm. For exactly the opposite reasons
Kormac / Stevie G / DJ Scope – representin hiphop, soul , swing , funk, and all that jazz. early Friday say 9-12, and all those lads have good access to get certain acts to do live showcases . Not a million miles away from what Gilles P and Benjii B do in London
Barry Redsetta to host an open minded electronic music show. The most on it man i know in the country for it, and a popular man in the clubs. He genuinely has an audience i feel . early Saturday say 9-12
there’s 4 suggestions, wouldnt break the bank, would be after the times when the most money is at stake, and i dont think these guys are overly ‘ underground’ either in the sense i think they’d do the business. I get that 2fm during the day need to play it safe. But surely things like Electric Picnic , POGO , The pavillon, the bierhaus, prove you can be successfull and be quality too. Why should radio be scared of this too ?
if the Sartre play ‘No Exit’ (hell is other people) was rewritten to include me, I think I’d end up trapped in a room with Colin and fucking Jim Jim for eternity. I am forced to listen to them on the way to work in the car I share every morning. They are the most utterly amateur, ridiculously smug pair of fuckwads I’ve ever had the misfortune to listen to. And the feeble way they borrow tricks from the almighty Adam and Joe just shows them up for the disaster they are. Oh Christ, I hate them.
Rick o’shea is so versatile, a master on the radio, well worth tuning into, I remember working alongside Rick in the early days on st James hospital radio he was a true professional then as he is today.
i cant stand that colm and jim jim , i refuse to listen to 2fm the really are a dose same crape every day .6 out of 6 jimjim dad load of shite