NEW Ireland Broadcasting would appeal to the "lost generation" of Irish radio listeners, according to Mr Colm O Conaill, the chief executive of Cork 96 FM, which is the main shareholder in the group.
The station aims to attract listeners between 25 and 45 with a mix of "mood music" and chat and would focus particularly on the 30-40 age bracket. This "lost generation" currently falls between the two State owned national stations, RTE 1 and 2 FM.
The three main areas which use radio advertising in Ireland food, retail and finance have a 42 per cent share of the domestic radio advertising market and also want to target people in this age sector, according to New Ireland.
Mr O Conaill said he decided to make a bid for the new national licence "the day Century failed". A national radio station had been at the back of his mind for five years, he added. The management team behind New Ireland was the first generation of Irish independent radio professionals and had between them 35 years of broadcasting experience.
The company's submission included a 15 minute video presentation which featured mock slices of its proposed programmes, including Ireland Today, its two hour morning news show.
It also gave examples of the mood music it planned to broadcast, which ranged from Van Morrison to George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Irish music would account for at least 30 per cent of the station's output and emerging talent would be nurtured through the establishment of an Irish music development association. The consortium stressed the "Irishness" of its team and the importance of reading the uniquely Irish psyche.
Ms Mary Kerrigan, who would head the station's news and current affairs output, said New Ireland would "shake up what has become a stagnant news and current affairs format". It would provide an alternative to the established agenda and an established pool of opinion, she said. The company would have regional reporters on the ground rather than on the phone in Dublin.