THE State's 21 local radios stations have opted to develop their own radio news service, instead of, subscribing to Radio Ireland's service.
The new news service, which will be known as Independent Local Radio News (ILRN), will be run by Mr Andrew Hanlon, currently head of news at the Dublin independent station, 98FM. Mr Hanlon will have a share in the news service, as will all the local stations.
The decision, made at a meeting of the Association of Independent Radio Stations (AIRS) this week, will come as a blow to Radio Ireland, which had been hoping to provide a service to local stations to subsidise its own news service.
It is believed Radio Ireland was offering a national and international service for about £5,000 a year to each station. However, the stations to fund a new service themselves through advertising around news bulletins.
Stations have long been dissatisfied with the news service they have be receiving, first from Century Radio, the national station that collapsed and since then through 98FM's Ireland Radio News and more recently, from the other Dublin station, FM104's Network Radio News. Both services were considered too fast and music station orientated for the slower, more speech driven local stations.
