Newstalk sells out

Foo King Ell

What happened to "All the news All the Time?"
Newstalk has gone from being a current affairs programme discussing topics from 9am - midday to a pale copy of the Gerry Ryan/Ray D'Arcy Shows. Now containing inane fluffy gossip and random tunes thrown in from a station that sold itself as music free and hard talking?
Personally if I want to listen to that type of show I have a choice on either Today FM or 2FM. What was needed was an alternative, not more of the same.

ateam

Foo King Ell wrote: »

What happened to "All the news All the Time?"
Newstalk has gone from being a current affairs programme discussing topics from 9am - midday to a pale copy of the Gerry Ryan/Ray D'Arcy Shows. Now containing inane fluffy gossip and random tunes thrown in from a station that sold itself as music free and hard talking?
Personally if I want to listen to that type of show I have a choice on either Today FM or 2FM. What was needed was an alternative, not more of the same.

I suppose RTE offer the heavy stuff with Pat Kenny from 10 to 12.

evil-monkey

I'm with ya on this one. Tom Dunne threw on a few tracks during his programme today. I listened to Newstalk for the reason I got what it said on the tin - News and Talk.

They still have some quality programming, but they're starting to turn into a hazy version of Today FM and the likes, and are in danger of loosing their target audience.

Aidric

It's a worrying development, yes. I find it hard to criticise too much though, they still put out the excellent Off The Ball which is the best thing on radio IMO.

Frankie Lee

I only listen to George Hook and Off the Ball so as long as they stay the same a couldn't care less what they do in the morning. The Breakfast show does be rubbish anyway, Eamon Keane is still ok.

Aidric

I think Eamon Keane is so far up his own hole it isn't healthy.

mike65

Don't expect the BCI to give a flying fig, I fully expect Newstalk and Today FM to merge at some point.

Mike

flogen

evil-monkey wrote: »

I'm with ya on this one. Tom Dunne threw on a few tracks during his programme today. I listened to Newstalk for the reason I got what it said on the tin - News and Talk.

They still have some quality programming, but they're starting to turn into a hazy version of Today FM and the likes, and are in danger of loosing their target audience.

I don't have much of a problem with Dunne playing the odd track - it's not like you could describe his programme as a music show and it's still mainly talk.

I think a lot of their less relevant (to 'News' and 'Talk' programming tends to come during the weekend when listenership would probably decline anyway... like it or not the likes of the Breakfast Show, Lunchtime, Moncrieff and George Hook are all talk-based (although granted only some can be described as news programming).

I think Newstalk are in danger of straying too much into light entertainment, mind you. What they have to realise is that the wider audience won't listen to them even if they never reference a news story again; there are certain people that just can't stand talk radio - or radio talk in any form.

mike65 wrote: »

Don't expect the BCI to give a flying fig, I fully expect Newstalk and Today FM to merge at some point.

Mike

It's pretty much done already - I can't see either rebranding but I do see a slow re-jig of their listings to ensure there's no clash... the only shows that's likely to effect are Tom Dunne / Ray D'Arcy and Matt Cooper / George Hook. At the moment D'Arcy and Cooper would come out on top and the others would be forced to move but I imagine they'll just move things as nature takes its course and certain presenters move on (so if Hook were to move they might put Off The Ball in his slot, or extend Moncrieff etc. giving them a sports or light entertainment show on one station and a news programme on the other.)

evil-monkey

flogen wrote: »

I don't have much of a problem with Dunne playing the odd track - it's not like you could describe his programme as a music show and it's still mainly talk.

ya but the problem is the talk is very light hearted stuff...almost like the kind of "goss" etc you'd expect from the likes of TV Now...

markkeane

I've given up listening to Newstalk. It's a light weight radio station for young radio trainee journalists. Some of whose egos need to be reined in.

For a start the standard of their researchers, producers and some presenters is appalling. None, and I mean none, would get inside Sky or BBC. With a few exceptions, the majority of their 'journalists' are kids who have just graduated from college. No experience. They should start out with their degree getting practical experience on community radio, local radio etc.

Having a good radio voice is obviously not a pre-requisite to become a journalists/presenters, just listen to their sports presenters!!! My god, where's that hanky. The nightly sports programme is a good idea, but the presenters are ****e. Immature, competing with one another as to who is the 'anchor'. One guy sounds as if he has a constant cold. They've no idea about broadcasting. They boast about transmitting a weekly Premier league soccer match, but omit to credit the UK radio station providing the feed. I think it's BBC 5 Live.
Clare Byrne is too good to be there. She's an accomplished, PROFESSIONAL, radio journalist having cut her teeth on radio stations in the UK. If she's any sense she will leave and join a station with editorial credibility.
But the rest of their so-called heavyweights - Hook, Keane, Gilroy - are a good excuse to turn the dial. Hook stumbled into journalism via his S.Indo rugby column, Keane almost apologises for asking perceived 'awkward' questions of guests and as for Gilroy, well he's just a light weight. He doesn't have the journalistic nous to carry off serious interviews.
RTE news is far superior. But then they pay better and their journalists are far more experienced. And they have correspondents, unlike NT who ring the specialist corrs in the national newspapers for updates and comment.
And when the mouth HOOK is on holidays who is one of the guest presenters? A university lecturer!!!
If they want to remain true to their licence agreement, they need to invest in experienced journalists, producers, researchers and presenters. And until then my dial fluctuates between RTE 1, BBC 4, BBC 5 live, the World Service.

evil-monkey

markkeane wrote: »

I've given up listening to Newstalk. It's a light weight radio station for young radio trainee journalists. Some of whose egos need to be reined in.

For a start the standard of their researchers, producers and some presenters is appalling. None, and I mean none, would get inside Sky or BBC. With a few exceptions, the majority of their 'journalists' are kids who have just graduated from college. No experience. They should start out with their degree getting practical experience on community radio, local radio etc.

Having a good radio voice is obviously not a pre-requisite to become a journalists/presenters, just listen to their sports presenters!!! My god, where's that hanky. The nightly sports programme is a good idea, but the presenters are ****e. Immature, competing with one another as to who is the 'anchor'. One guy sounds as if he has a constant cold. They've no idea about broadcasting. They boast about transmitting a weekly Premier league soccer match, but omit to credit the UK radio station providing the feed. I think it's BBC 5 Live.
Clare Byrne is too good to be there. She's an accomplished, PROFESSIONAL, radio journalist having cut her teeth on radio stations in the UK. If she's any sense she will leave and join a station with editorial credibility.
But the rest of their so-called heavyweights - Hook, Keane, Gilroy - are a good excuse to turn the dial. Hook stumbled into journalism via his S.Indo rugby column, Keane almost apologises for asking perceived 'awkward' questions of guests and as for Gilroy, well he's just a light weight. He doesn't have the journalistic nous to carry off serious interviews.
RTE news is far superior. But then they pay better and their journalists are far more experienced. And they have correspondents, unlike NT who ring the specialist corrs in the national newspapers for updates and comment.
And when the mouth HOOK is on holidays who is one of the guest presenters? A university lecturer!!!
If they want to remain true to their licence agreement, they need to invest in experienced journalists, producers, researchers and presenters. And until then my dial fluctuates between RTE 1, BBC 4, BBC 5 live, the World Service.

i disagree with your comments about the Off the Ball presenters. i think Eoin McDevitt and Ken Earley are quite good, work well together, and know their stuff. Murph has a superb knowledge of Gaelic Games too. Oisin Langan's voice (at least I think it's him) is incredibly slurred and how he got into radio at all is beyond me.

I totally agree with your comments about when Hook is on holidays. Kevin Myers and Ivan Yeats are amateurs when it comes to the radio game. They might be good in their own fields of expertise, but they are totally out of their dept on radio, particularly Yeats who, for some reason, really fancies himself as a bit of media head...

Clare Byrne is good, but she's very whiney sometimes. was much better as a news reader. listening to her giving interviews sometimes is like listening to my younger sister arguing about XFactor!!

ateam

George Hook seems to constantly regale us with his childhood memories while asking a question about the banking crisis or something. He should just get on and do his job of asking questions. Listened to a portion of his Budget special programme, he really didn't capture the mood of the day and showed his inexperience.

I said ages ago that I don't know how Eamon Keane landed his own programme on Newstalk. They must of been really desperate. He's woefully bad at asking questions and seems to have Dan Boyle of the Green party on every day. Likes the sound of his own voice too much.

Tried to listen to their morning programme a few times but I found it too boring. They do about 100 interviews every 30 minutes and the business presenter is so annoying to listen to (his voice!).

flogen

ateam wrote: »

George Hook seems to constantly regale us with his childhood memories while asking a question about the banking crisis or something. He should just get on and do his job of asking questions. Listened to a portion of his Budget special programme, he really didn't capture the mood of the day and showed his inexperience.

I said ages ago that I don't know how Eamon Keane landed his own programme on Newstalk. They must of been really desperate. He's woefully bad at asking questions and seems to have Dan Boyle of the Green party on every day. Likes the sound of his own voice too much.

Tried to listen to their morning programme a few times but I found it too boring. They do about 100 interviews every 30 minutes and the business presenter is so annoying to listen to (his voice!).

I listened to some of Keane a week or two ago and he was woeful - just a really bad interviewer who missed out on some very obvious lines of questioning for no apparent reason.

For example when Dermot Ahern was on talking about the huge drugs haul the West he was asked for a reaction to local comments that the coast guards don't get funded well enough - Ahern made a comment that they've (the Government) only recently had the money to give to the operation to make it better and Keane didn't pick up on it at all. Was madness.

I wouldn't mind so much but they seem to try to sell the show as hard hitting when it's nothing of the sort.

ateam

flogen wrote: »

I listened to some of Keane a week or two ago and he was woeful - just a really bad interviewer who missed out on some very obvious lines of questioning for no apparent reason.

For example when Dermot Ahern was on talking about the huge drugs haul the West he was asked for a reaction to local comments that the coast guards don't get funded well enough - Ahern made a comment that they've (the Government) only recently had the money to give to the operation to make it better and Keane didn't pick up on it at all. Was madness.

I wouldn't mind so much but they seem to try to sell the show as hard hitting when it's nothing of the sort.

Yeah, he's hell bent on announcing his own views and forgets to asks relevant questions. Stopped listening to his programme. His replacement is far superior, can't remember his name.

Dob74

markkeane wrote: »

I've given up listening to Newstalk. It's a light weight radio station for young radio trainee journalists. Some of whose egos need to be reined in.

For a start the standard of their researchers, producers and some presenters is appalling. None, and I mean none, would get inside Sky or BBC. With a few exceptions, the majority of their 'journalists' are kids who have just graduated from college. No experience. They should start out with their degree getting practical experience on community radio, local radio etc.

Having a good radio voice is obviously not a pre-requisite to become a journalists/presenters, just listen to their sports presenters!!! My god, where's that hanky. The nightly sports programme is a good idea, but the presenters are ****e. Immature, competing with one another as to who is the 'anchor'. One guy sounds as if he has a constant cold. They've no idea about broadcasting. They boast about transmitting a weekly Premier league soccer match, but omit to credit the UK radio station providing the feed. I think it's BBC 5 Live.
Clare Byrne is too good to be there. She's an accomplished, PROFESSIONAL, radio journalist having cut her teeth on radio stations in the UK. If she's any sense she will leave and join a station with editorial credibility.
But the rest of their so-called heavyweights - Hook, Keane, Gilroy - are a good excuse to turn the dial. Hook stumbled into journalism via his S.Indo rugby column, Keane almost apologises for asking perceived 'awkward' questions of guests and as for Gilroy, well he's just a light weight. He doesn't have the journalistic nous to carry off serious interviews.
RTE news is far superior. But then they pay better and their journalists are far more experienced. And they have correspondents, unlike NT who ring the specialist corrs in the national newspapers for updates and comment.
And when the mouth HOOK is on holidays who is one of the guest presenters? A university lecturer!!!
If they want to remain true to their licence agreement, they need to invest in experienced journalists, producers, researchers and presenters. And until then my dial fluctuates between RTE 1, BBC 4, BBC 5 live, the World Service.

I disagree with your view on Newstalk. Newstalk is half way between news and entertainment. You cant have a serious news station 24/7 in ireland, nothing much happens. They have to combine news with entertainment to keep things ticking over. They also use listeners comments more than RTE. At least they are not like RTE a bunch losers bit*hing and moaning about everything. And that what passes for news. There is no way they compete with RTE for resoures nevermind BBC. RTE has not only ad revenue but also can combine its news room with rte television.
I think you most have of had a bad personal experience with someone from newstalk.

kraggy

markkeane wrote: »

I've given up listening to Newstalk. It's a light weight radio station for young radio trainee journalists. Some of whose egos need to be reined in.

For a start the standard of their researchers, producers and some presenters is appalling. None, and I mean none, would get inside Sky or BBC. With a few exceptions, the majority of their 'journalists' are kids who have just graduated from college. No experience. They should start out with their degree getting practical experience on community radio, local radio etc.

Having a good radio voice is obviously not a pre-requisite to become a journalists/presenters, just listen to their sports presenters!!! My god, where's that hanky. The nightly sports programme is a good idea, but the presenters are ****e. Immature, competing with one another as to who is the 'anchor'. One guy sounds as if he has a constant cold. They've no idea about broadcasting. They boast about transmitting a weekly Premier league soccer match, but omit to credit the UK radio station providing the feed. I think it's BBC 5 Live.
Clare Byrne is too good to be there. She's an accomplished, PROFESSIONAL, radio journalist having cut her teeth on radio stations in the UK. If she's any sense she will leave and join a station with editorial credibility.
But the rest of their so-called heavyweights - Hook, Keane, Gilroy - are a good excuse to turn the dial. Hook stumbled into journalism via his S.Indo rugby column, Keane almost apologises for asking perceived 'awkward' questions of guests and as for Gilroy, well he's just a light weight. He doesn't have the journalistic nous to carry off serious interviews.
RTE news is far superior. But then they pay better and their journalists are far more experienced. And they have correspondents, unlike NT who ring the specialist corrs in the national newspapers for updates and comment.
And when the mouth HOOK is on holidays who is one of the guest presenters? A university lecturer!!!
If they want to remain true to their licence agreement, they need to invest in experienced journalists, producers, researchers and presenters. And until then my dial fluctuates between RTE 1, BBC 4, BBC 5 live, the World Service.

Claire Byrne too good for NT? Are you for real??

She's very weak. You can tell she's only a young wan. Whiney and tries what D'Arcy did with Harney - shout down the interviewee in order to look intelligent.

And regarding Off The Ball, if you listened to the show on a regular basis, it would be clear as day that Owen McDevitt is the main presenter.

naidheachdair

Dob74 wrote: »

I disagree with your view on Newstalk. Newstalk is half way between news and entertainment. You cant have a serious news station 24/7 in ireland, nothing much happens. They have to combine news with entertainment to keep things ticking over. They also use listeners comments more than RTE. At least they are not like RTE a bunch losers bit*hing and moaning about everything. And that what passes for news. There is no way they compete with RTE for resoures nevermind BBC. RTE has not only ad revenue but also can combine its news room with rte television.
I think you most have of had a bad personal experience with someone from newstalk.

Even the UK struggles to have a serious news/talk station running all day--Radio 5 quite often sounds like it's just filling time by being pointlessly argumentative. Why they thought Dublin, and subsequently the whole of Ireland, could sustain a 24/7 live news station is anyone's guess. Similar experiments in locally-based commercial talk radio in Britain (in Liverpool and Edinburgh) are rather lacklustre.

But who on earth wants hard news all day long? I'm a journalist and even I prefer to listen to music radio when I get off work. I don't want to sit in the car listening to some mouthy presenter gobbing off about murders and job losses, or giving an interviewee a hard time just for the hell of it.

Far better to have interesting guests in the studio from whom we can learn something, even if they're not talking about the immediate news of the day. I'm talking sports people, actors, musicians, scientists, writers and so on, not the endless procession of politicians, chief executives and local councillors who make up so much airtime on the likes of Newstalk using thousands of weaselly, pointless words yet saying absolutely nothing.

mike65

naidheachdair wrote: »

Far better to have interesting guests in the studio from whom we can learn something, even if they're not talking about the immediate news of the day. I'm talking sports people, actors, musicians, scientists, writers and so on,

This would be exellent but RTE canned its afternoon "arts" magazine so to expand Liveline and the fluff that followed it. No chance of Newstalk with its entirley ad driven revenue (and O'Briens pockets) developing an such programming. As I said in this thread what arts/humanities they have are probably in danger as NT pull in the reigns.

Mike

Sad Professor

I don't think anyone really wants a 24/7 non-stop serious news/talk station. Personally I just want a talk station that can handle both serious news and light entertainment throughout the day depending on the circumstances. What works so well about 5 Live is that most of it's presenters are pretty versatile and can handle both. In contrast almost everyone on Newstalk is a one-trick pony. It wouldn't matter what was happening in the world, Moncrief would still be reading out silly texts.

Frankie Lee

Sad Professor wrote: »

I don't think anyone really wants a 24/7 non-stop serious news/talk station. Personally I just want a talk station that can handle both serious news and light entertainment throughout the day depending on the circumstances. What works so well about 5 Live is that most of it's presenters are pretty versatile and can handle both. In contrast almost everyone on Newstalk is a one-trick pony. It wouldn't matter what was happening in the world, Moncrief would still be reading out silly texts.

+1
What Newstalk need are Brian Dobson type characters for the radio.

Mr. Incognito

I've given up listening to Newstalk. It's a light weight radio station for young radio trainee journalists. Some of whose egos need to be reined in.

For a start the standard of their researchers, producers and some presenters is appalling. None, and I mean none, would get inside Sky or BBC. With a few exceptions, the majority of their 'journalists' are kids who have just graduated from college. No experience. They should start out with their degree getting practical experience on community radio, local radio etc.

Having a good radio voice is obviously not a pre-requisite to become a journalists/presenters, just listen to their sports presenters!!! My god, where's that hanky. The nightly sports programme is a good idea, but the presenters are ****e. Immature, competing with one another as to who is the 'anchor'. One guy sounds as if he has a constant cold. They've no idea about broadcasting. They boast about transmitting a weekly Premier league soccer match, but omit to credit the UK radio station providing the feed. I think it's BBC 5 Live.
Clare Byrne is too good to be there. She's an accomplished, PROFESSIONAL, radio journalist having cut her teeth on radio stations in the UK. If she's any sense she will leave and join a station with editorial credibility.
But the rest of their so-called heavyweights - Hook, Keane, Gilroy - are a good excuse to turn the dial. Hook stumbled into journalism via his S.Indo rugby column, Keane almost apologises for asking perceived 'awkward' questions of guests and as for Gilroy, well he's just a light weight. He doesn't have the journalistic nous to carry off serious interviews.
RTE news is far superior. But then they pay better and their journalists are far more experienced. And they have correspondents, unlike NT who ring the specialist corrs in the national newspapers for updates and comment.
And when the mouth HOOK is on holidays who is one of the guest presenters? A university lecturer!!!
If they want to remain true to their licence agreement, they need to invest in experienced journalists, producers, researchers and presenters. And until then my dial fluctuates between RTE 1, BBC 4, BBC 5 live, the World Service.

Are you talking about off the ball?

Get real- best thing on radio in years.

Experienced journalists? Like who Pat Kenny and the rest of the out of touch twat brigade. You're probably over 40 and your wife probably works in RTE.

Newstalk, and the kids, are a breathe of fresh air.

mike65

The merits of Newstalks on-air carry-on is debated on the radio forum where you will find a whole mega thread where the station gets trashed several times a day.

evil-monkey

ateam wrote: »

George Hook seems to constantly regale us with his childhood memories

You think the Hookie Monster is bad - try listening to Norris!!

Dob74 wrote: »

You cant have a serious news station 24/7 in ireland, nothing much happens.

That's very true.

kraggy wrote: »

She's very weak. You can tell she's only a young wan. Whiney and tries what D'Arcy did with Harney - shout down the interviewee in order to look intelligent.

lol, yup - that pretty much sums up Claire Byrne.

population

Gerry O' Sullivan is the guy who cannot talk properly.

I actually have to reach for the dial when I hear him because he reminds me of one of those kids who carries far too much saliva around their mouths and waits for opportune moments to speak their mind with a veritable fjord full lapping against every syllable in a deliberate attempt to sound gross.

I do worry for Newstalk because I enjoyed the station for years and now I do find it is lurching towards Ray D'Arcy levels of banal ****e.

Though I have never been a fan of Sean Moncrief in any guise, his show is frankly appalling. And who the hell decided that Tom Dunne had personality???

His show is so insipid. His mannerisms so meek, and the content reads like an issue of Irelands Own.

Dont know how his ratings are but would be curious to see if they are in any way having an impact on audience share........