Liveline today, a new low

DublinWriter

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse.

I tuned into Liveline today.

First caller was a family member of some Dublin gangland crim. She was bemoaning the fact that the law-abiding side of her family were being plastered all about the tabloid print media. Fair enough.

Joe had her on for what must have been the first 20 minutes of the show and to my untrained ears it sounded like he was stringing her along with ambling questions until there were enough callers coming in to build up a head of steam.

Sure enough, Joe suddenly cut her off and queue about half-a-dozen angry citizens coming on to complain about the rise of gangland crime in the country.

The next topic was about the apparent locking of fire exit doors in the Dundrum shopping centre. Even Joe managed to turn this into a hate filled rant-fest.

Same format, let the original caller make a point and queue about something and then allow only the most shouty and argumentative callers to come on to rebute the original point.

Liveline is can be good a times, but on a 'slow' day it's tabloidism on a stick and tries too hard to rake controversy.

mike65

If I bothered to listen then I'd possibly have been outraged.

Mike.

Dont be at yourself

The other day some auld one was complaining because she saw hospital staff wearing their uniforms out to a shopping centre across the road on their lunch break.

The horror of it all.

irishgeo

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

The other day some auld one was complaining because she saw hospital staff wearing their uniforms out to a shopping centre across the road on their lunch break.

The horror of it all.

that was banned as a masure to stop the spread of infections such as mrsa etc.

projectmayhem

Did the guy I was dealing with in work not get on to complain about the lack of quality service he received then, no?

Phoenix3

I have always had the height of respect and still do for RTE as our national broadcaster.But for the last year in particular I have listened to the new lows we have hit on Liveline.Absolute Sh***.While I dont hold a grudge against Joe ,I do feel any respect and admiration anybody has for him, is being dragged down at alarming rates.

For some reason when Derek Davis Presents,he seem to be able to reach incredible heights and avoid the carry on we had top endure what we heard today.

A solution ,maybe to move the slot to 10pm and let it go head to head with them other sh*** phone in programes that draw the same crap content.

djsupreme

To be honest, I quite enjoy listening to Liveline. It's gas to hear the cranks out there and what their whinge of the day is. Yesterday was brilliant with all the ould ones withdrawing 60 and 70 grand in cash from the bank and bringing it to the post office.

But today was a very poor show. The first interview dragged for ages, although there was one brilliant moment where gave joe a right boll**king for going off on a tangent. The second item about the ties on the door was just a yawnfest. Who gives a sh*t?! The Dublin fire service said it was completely safe - so a non-story. I turned it off a couple of minutes in.

All in all, I do think Liveline is an enjoyable show. But then, it very much depends on the topics.

Phoenix3

I have to agree. I;m not quite sure if enjoyable is the right word, maybe we need to invent a new word to describe what we mean to say.

I find myself tuning in all the time even through I know it is going to be CRINGE RADIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

irish_bob

ever notice how joe is ambivelent to relations of criminals when they defend the poor dears yet comes over all judgemental to the regular people who ring in and rightly condemm theese scumbags , a case in point today was the aunt of the woman who was marlo hylands partner , she was rabbiting on about it being unfair that hylands partne ( her niece ) was mentioned in the paper and how her nephew the criminal john daly was a lovely guy and she was very proud of him , the oul bags shamless brass necked drivel aside , duffy let her flow for about 20 mins and cut short many who showed little sympathy to her low life extended family

i realise that we live in an age when excuses have to be made for everyone no matter what theyve done and that judging someone is a bigger crime than shooting or stealing but this is the national broadcaster not the spin on spin 1038

psychic-hack

Well the Germans already have a great word for it - Schaudenfraude -
(Enjoying someone elses displeasure!) And it is the "raison d'etre" for programmes like Liveline.

Phoenix3

I have to agree. I;m not quite sure if enjoyable is the right word, maybe we need to invent a new word to describe what we mean to say.

I find myself tuning in all the time even through I know it is going to be CRINGE RADIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mrsdewinter

irish_bob wrote: »

ever notice how joe is ambivelent to relations of criminals when they defend the poor dears yet comes over all judgemental to the regular people who ring in and rightly condemm theese scumbags 1038

That drives me up the wall. Didn't hear today's show but, going on past form, can just imagine how it ran. Agree with the post on D Davis. He's a class act. Reasonable, intelligent,...

Dutchie

Am i right in assuming that the pretense of Liveline is that anybody from any walk of life can call and vent their anger/displeasure/opinion on any topic relevant to that person?

If this is the case, well then Joe Duffy must be applauded. He can handle a vast range of topics with dignity, respect and humor.

The only weak aspect of the show is "Comedy Friday" pr whatever it's called, it is unfunny, unwitty and painful to listen to.

Wishbone Ash

Phoenix3 wrote: »

For some reason when Derek Davis Presents,he seem to be able to reach incredible heights

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Agree with the post on D Davis. He's a class act. Reasonable, intelligent,...

:eek: Derek Davis makes me want to crawl into my wheelie bin and die.

Phoenix3 wrote:

A solution ,maybe to move the slot to 10pm and let it go head to head with them other sh*** phone in programes that draw the same crap content.

It's getting more like that skanger show presented by Chris Barry(?) alright!

alpha2zulu

I thought joe reached the new low on Thursday as he did his very best to rustle up a run on the banks...and move all our savings to the post office instead. its very dangerous because some of what he wass saying was completely incorrect.

Wishbone Ash

Dutchie wrote: »

If this is the case, well then Joe Duffy must be applauded. He can handle a vast range of topics with dignity, respect and humor

He appears to be increasingly allowing his own views to mar the debate rather than 'chairing' it.

He was disgraceful towards the NRA representative re Westlink the other day and he allowed that idiot (Brendan?) far too much air time today - illegally using emergency doors as a routine exit and then complaining about security placing small plastic seals on them to stop the practice.

IvyTheTerrible

Joe Duffy and his show are a disgrace. He nearly caused a run on the banks last week.

Also his team called work colleagues of someone who's child died in tragic circumstances (an accident, no one at fault) to try and get some scandal and exploit the private tragedy. He disgusts me.

Mr E

Yeah I heard about Thursday's episode on yesterdays Wide Angle on Newstalk.
Very irresponsible of RTE to let it run for as long as it did. Joe bluntly suggested that people should take their money out of the bank and carry it around with them in their wallet/purse. What a moron.

I heard the Minister for Finance actually put in a call to the DG in RTE to complain.

grumpytrousers

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Joe Duffy and his show are a disgrace. He nearly caused a run on the banks last week.

Also his team called work colleagues of someone who's child died in tragic circumstances (an accident, no one at fault) to try and get some scandal and exploit the private tragedy. He disgusts me.

pal of mine was a researcher on Liveline - said the mantra for working there whilst 'researching' was to make sure that when you'd a caller lined up for the show, that they were to be primed so that they would not divulge the fact that RTE instigated the call.

Yup, folks, not even all the people who ring in do it off their own bat. I'm not saying they're not angry, i'm just saying that they tend to be 'encouraged' to do so by the show.

---

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BrianD

Mr E wrote: »

Yeah I heard about Thursday's episode on yesterdays Wide Angle on Newstalk.
Very irresponsible of RTE to let it run for as long as it did. Joe bluntly suggested that people should take their money out of the bank and carry it around with them in their wallet/purse. What a moron.

I heard the Minister for Finance actually put in a call to the DG in RTE to complain.

Well there's a couple of interesting things about this one.

Firstly, the general public should be aware of the security of their deposits and it is up to the banks to inform their customers. Clearly they haven't been making their customers aware of this fact. It's not the broadcasters fault if they haven't or chose to play it down.

Secondly, I'm amazed that the hard pressed public actually have that many deposits that exceed the safeguarded amout of 90% of the deposit up to 20,000. Perhaps the Revenue should be having a sniff at newly opened post office savings account!

Ultimately we have very low protection for depositers in Ireland. While I have no time for the whingers that populate the Joe Duffy show the net result is a measure that cost the government nothing but reassures the ordinary man in the street.

In regard to the shows producers "instigating" the call, this is pretty standard practice in every radio station in the land. No station ever puts a random caller on the line. Every caller you hear on-air is a call back from the station you are listening to.

IvyTheTerrible

BrianD wrote: »

Ultimately we have very low protection for depositers in Ireland. While I have no time for the whingers that populate the Joe Duffy show the net result is a measure that cost the government nothing but reassures the ordinary man in the street.

Actually as a result of the recent panic, the protection has gone up to 100,000 per person so actually that's pretty good protection.

Big Tone

Its high time the WhineLine" was scrapped and maybe some music put in its place!

grumpytrousers

BrianD wrote: »

In regard to the shows producers "instigating" the call, this is pretty standard practice in every radio station in the land. No station ever puts a random caller on the line. Every caller you hear on-air is a call back from the station you are listening to.

Oh I don't deny there's callbacks going on Brian; There's scheduling issues to take account of and if the plan for the show is 45 minutes about the price of cheese and 30 minutes about the amount of goat worshippers who populate the catering industry, then they have to make sure they've the right callers at the right time.

My point is that the show appears to present itself as being the voice of the people; that people rang the number in the morning, vented spleen and were called back to go live in the afternoon.

That's not what happens. The researchers (hence the name) actively look for people who would want to go on the show and moan. I'm not saying these people don't have a right to moan, i'm saying it's rather disingenuous to present it as if they're spontaneously doing it.

Geraldine Kennedy doesn't look at the Letters Page of the Irish Times, decide it's a bit quiet and either
a) get her staff to contact somebody who's always good for a moan and get him to write in or
b) get her staff to write made-up letters.

I realise that other newspapers *do* have letters written by hacks just to provoke a reaction; I expect better of RTE.

alpha2zulu

pal of mine was a researcher on Liveline - said the mantra for working there whilst 'researching' was to make sure that when you'd a caller lined up for the show, that they were to be primed so that they would not divulge the fact that RTE instigated the call

That seems to be the way the show rolls alright. i emailed them about something a while back and they quickly emailed back with a invite to the " Whineline partyline" on a separate 01 number. Heres a copy of the mail.:D

Dear x,

Thank you very much for your e-mail, would you mind coming back with
your phone number.

Kind regards,

Margaret x
Series Producer
Liveline
[URL="callto:+101-2082984"]01[/URL]-208xxxx

Wishbone Ash

EDIT: delete post (already covered in another post).

BrianD

grumpytrousers wrote: »

Oh I don't deny there's callbacks going on Brian; There's scheduling issues to take account of and if the plan for the show is 45 minutes about the price of cheese and 30 minutes about the amount of goat worshippers who populate the catering industry, then they have to make sure they've the right callers at the right time.

My point is that the show appears to present itself as being the voice of the people; that people rang the number in the morning, vented spleen and were called back to go live in the afternoon.

That's not what happens. The researchers (hence the name) actively look for people who would want to go on the show and moan. I'm not saying these people don't have a right to moan, i'm saying it's rather disingenuous to present it as if they're spontaneously doing it.

Geraldine Kennedy doesn't look at the Letters Page of the Irish Times, decide it's a bit quiet and either
a) get her staff to contact somebody who's always good for a moan and get him to write in or
b) get her staff to write made-up letters.

I realise that other newspapers *do* have letters written by hacks just to provoke a reaction; I expect better of RTE.

I am not here to defend the Joe Duffy but I would imagine that the Irish Times is sitting on a stash of letters that they can introduce if the scribes are a little quiet.

There's nothing underhand about the show ... researchers look for issues that would be of relevance to the audience. I'd imagine they get plenty of unsolicited e-mails about various issues and then they need to cast an eye on the issues of the day. I don't have a problem with that.

bmaxi

While not advocating mass hysteria, anything that gets reaction from a Minister in the present stagnant Cabinet can't be all bad.:rolleyes:

Trojan911

DublinWriter wrote: »

First caller was a family member of some Dublin gangland crim. She was bemoaning the fact that the law-abiding side of her family were being plastered all about the tabloid print media. Fair enough.

Joe had her on for what must have been the first 20 minutes of the show and to my untrained ears it sounded like he was stringing her along with ambling questions until there were enough callers coming in to build up a head of steam.

Sure enough, Joe suddenly cut her off and queue about half-a-dozen angry citizens coming on to complain about the rise of gangland crime in the country.

The next topic was about the apparent locking of fire exit doors in the Dundrum shopping centre. Even Joe managed to turn this into a hate filled rant-fest.

Same format, let the original caller make a point and queue about something and then allow only the most shouty and argumentative callers to come on to rebute the original point.

Liveline is can be good a times, but on a 'slow' day it's tabloidism on a stick and tries too hard to rake controversy.

I heard this particular show & to be honest, I've cut down listening to the show completely. It used to be a good show but not anymore in my opinion.

To me, it is like a radio version of the Jerry Springer show, I'll say no more.

grumpytrousers

BrianD wrote: »

I am not here to defend the Joe Duffy but I would imagine that the Irish Times is sitting on a stash of letters that they can introduce if the scribes are a little quiet.

There's nothing underhand about the show ... researchers look for issues that would be of relevance to the audience. I'd imagine they get plenty of unsolicited e-mails about various issues and then they need to cast an eye on the issues of the day. I don't have a problem with that.

Yeah - but read my original post. My problem is that RTE themselves believe there's something underhand in what they do. The researchers tell the 'callers' (more accurately the 'persons who get the callback') not to mention anything about researchers being in touch with them.

My mate only made the comment in passing so I don't have specific instances, and i'm not sure i could post 'em even if I did, but certainly the way in which he said it was that RTE themselves consider the Liveline methodology to be a little 'off' but that as it works, and it gets the listeners, then its okay.

---

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Jip

Lord help us all if this is Irish society today, stuck listening to todays show and it is so farcical that anyone unaware of the Joe Duffy show would surely think it's a skit. Some guy, obviously with no life whatsoever, is on the last 25 minutes complaining about street stenciling, using a power washer to stencil on footpaths. Such waffle and crap, this topic should not have even been given air time.And to top if all off, he says that eating chocolate is as bad as smoking, beause the ads are for Whispa.


Edit. Ha Ha, it's the guy that was conficted of burning down Dockrells years ago, the irony. Ah sure, one of the reasons he was convicted was that the jury was all male, he must not have been able to use his charms against the male of the species.

mike65

I was listening as that professional dub fella starting ranting about the evils of capitalism was expressed though Cadburys street cleaning marketing - "its done at night Joe and that tells you something about the nature of what the're doing , they know they're in the wrong etc"

Mike

The Muppet

mike65 wrote: »

I was listening as that professional dub fella starting ranting about the evils of capitalism was expressed though Cadburys street cleaning marketing - "its done at night Joe and that tells you something about the nature of what the're doing , they know they're in the wrong etc"

Mike

Manix Flynn, he did get a little overheated. Msut have beeen a slow news day . I found the item funny,but it does indicate the trivial issues that some can get in a lather over. Funny in that they didn't appear to have any issue with the dirt of the pavememnts that make stencilling possible. He had a point about ther Persil ad stencilled onto the listed building .

herr speer

Joe is a good broadcaster.He gets a huge audience so he must be doing something right.Rock on Joe!;)

mike65

Manix Flynn, thanks Muppet. The name wouldn't come to me.

Mike

humberklog

mike65 wrote: »

Manix Flynn

The same guy had a number of his installations posted around the city about 5 year ago. I think it was called 'The Proclamation'. Some over long written eye sores highlighting his experiences of being bennied whilst in care. 1 may well still be in-situ at the Stephen's green/Leeson St. junction. To the left of the sugar club.
Also if one looks up at a building on Cork Hill (between Dame St. and lord Edward St.) and see where in each window there is an Andy Warholesque portrait filling the space...well that's his also. Uncle Gaybo had a lot of time for him back in the day.
I think joe had a slow day...all this businessdoomed/bank busting/creditcrunching is paying its toll on him.

Latchy

I was briefly listening to it yesterday and i thought i heard a street artist who does a statue imatation of james joyce say he was pushed over by somebody ???? .I wasnt sure weather to laugh until the poor chap said he had terrible neck pain as a result .

Tis a sad day when even james joyce is knocked to the ground on the streets

General Zod

Mannix Flynn is one to talk about the evils of marketing. He put an installation up on the site of the heroin overdose across from the old Isolde's Towers "Site of Desire and Death" with plenty of the sheets of paper stuck up explaining what it was and how many other installations he had planned around Dublin. so he's happy with street marketing when it's his marketing.

tbh

General Zod wrote: »

Mannix Flynn is one to talk about the evils of marketing. He put an installation up on the site of the heroin overdose across from the old Isolde's Towers "Site of Desire and Death" with plenty of the sheets of paper stuck up explaining what it was and how many other installations he had planned around Dublin. so he's happy with street marketing when it's his marketing.

yeah, and as my wise old dad said, he's not slow to market the fact that he's running for dublin city council

Fulton Crown

That Mannix Flynn is a right pain....came across as a fairly ignorant gimp...speakin of pains...wasn't he the chappie who was regularly up before the beak for breaking shop windows. ??

Of course being a fellow media person the Dufficer gave the auld b0llix airtime

Prisoner6409

Fulton Crown wrote: »

That Mannix Flynn is a right pain....came across as a fairly ignorant gimp...speakin of pains...wasn't he the chappie who was regularly up before the beak for breaking shop windows. ??

Of course being a fellow media person the Dufficer gave the auld b0llix airtime

He was also done for the burning down of Dockrells, a large builders merchant suppliers somewhere down near the 3 arena many years ago, of course he has always protested his innocence. Now don't misunderstand me, there are plenty of people who made serious mistakes when young but turned their life around and did well, Mark Wahlberg among many. Thing about Flynn is he seems to forget where he came from and has become just like the rest of them spongers in DCC and vica versa.

Please don't bump 10-year-old threads without a clear reason, Prisoner6409.