Radio stations to pool news services

RADIO STATIONS Today FM and Newstalk, which are both owned by Denis O'Brien's company Communicorp, are to combine their newsroom resources.

The services of reporters in the two newsrooms are to be "pooled", the Dublin-based national stations have confirmed.

However, Today FM chief executive Willie O'Reilly denied that the stations' newsrooms were being merged.

"Today FM and Newstalk continue to have separate newsrooms with separate newsreaders, political correspondents and management, but there will be pooling of reporters," Mr O'Reilly said.

It is understood the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland is opposed to the idea of merging the newsrooms.

Mr O'Reilly said there would be no redundancies at Today FM.

It is understood two freelance journalists working in the Newstalk newsroom were let go yesterday. Newstalk chief executive Elaine Geraghty said there had not been any redundancies at the station. The pooling arrangement "allows us to reduce dependence on freelance services", she said.

"The ability to pool resources is a pragmatic and sensible approach given the climate we are facing. It's an efficient way of using the resources both stations have."

She claimed it would also safeguard editorial standards in news.

Both stations now operate from the same building in Digges Lane, Dublin, with the Today FM newsroom on the fifth floor and the Newstalk newsroom on the third floor. The stations share a reception area but have separate production suites.

Until this summer, Newstalk was based in Mount Street Crescent. Earlier in the year Today FM moved from its original Middle Abbey Street premises.

The Communicorp group owns the Dublin pop music station 98, the Dublin youth station Spin 103, the regional station Spin SouthWest and 44 stations in nine countries. Today FM and Newstalk are the State's only two national commercial stations.