THE Cork Examiner, the Farmers Journal and Mr Dermot Desmond's International Investment and Underwriting Group have joined the Radio Ireland consortium which is bidding for the national radio licence.
Radio Ireland is headed by former RTE television producer and producer of Riverdance, Mr John McColgan. The other promoters include Ms Moya Doherty, another producer of Riverdance, as well as Mr Robbie Wootton, who runs the recording studios, the Factory.
Mr McColgan told the IRTC at the oral hearing that the consortium's capital requirement of £3.5 million was now in place. The promoters were subscribing £1.5 million and the remaining £2 million would be provided by new investors.
Mr McColgan and Ms Doherty emphasised the experience of the promoters in the area of radio, television, music and news and current affairs.
Mr McColgan said that his consortium was Irish born "We all live and work here, and all have been fortunate enough to be successful outside this country as well as at home. I think that's a reflection of the growing confidence of the Irish and the increasing respect abroad for Ireland and things Irish."
Radio Ireland would appeal to the 25 to 45 age group. It would offer advertisers a rate of £100 for 30 seconds, increasing as its listener ship grew.
It was also seeking a weekly audience of between three quarters to one million listeners. It also expects to be generating revenue of £3.5 million or 10 per cent of radio advertising revenue in the first year, rising to £6.5 million by
It would be a 24 hour station that would entertain and inform, with a programme mix of music and speech in a 60/40 ratio during peak times. Music would be important to the schedule, but the mix would be unpredictable. Mr, McColgan said that it was impossible to categorise the music tastes "of the" over 25 year olds.
Mr Patrick Kinsella, the adviser on news and current affairs to the station, said radio without news and current affairs would be a waste of the airwaves. Between the peak hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Radio Ireland would expect to broadcast nine hours of news and current affairs, well in excess of the 20 per cent legal requirement.
Agreement had been reached in principle with TV3 for supplying news and current affairs. News and current affairs on Radio Ireland would show more judgment rather than long interviews that "fill time".
The news agenda would be broad. Politics, for instance, would not be confined to a square mile around Leinster House". Radio Ireland would use drama and documentaries. It would produce its own programmes as well as using commissions from local radio stations and independent production companies.